Volkswagen XL1 ‘Super’ Hybrid heading for the UK – costs £98,515

Volkswagen XL1 – the world’s most efficient hybrid ‘supercar’ is heading for the UK, with VW pricing the XL1 at £98,515. Just 200 being built.

VW announced a while back that their ‘super’ hybrid XL1 was going in to limited production, although they didn’t confirm a price for being super green.

But now the first XL1 has already been delivered in Germany, Volkswagen has confirmed a chunk of the 200 run – thought to be between 20 and 30 cars – will be making their way to the UK and will cost £98,515.

For almost £100k, there are plenty of options bordering on supercar, but the XL1 is ‘super’ in a different way, and if extreme economy and a design that looks like something imagined as a car of the future in Hollywood Sci-Fi films of the 1930s floats your boat, the XL1 could be the car you’re looking for.

Its plug-in powertrain – a 47bhp 800cc diesel engine coupled to a 27bhp electric motor –  delivers a total of 74bhp to the rear wheels through a 7-speed DSG ‘box and manages official economy of 313mpg and emissions of 21g/km, figures that probably make it cheaper than walking if they get delivered in the real world.

That’s down to not just the meagre power of the powertrain, but also to the XL1’s very slippery shape – a drag coefficient of 0.189 – and a carbon reinforced plastic body that helps the XL1 weigh in at just 795kg.

And if all that make almost £100k seem a bargain to you – and you’d rather have an XL1 than a Jaguar F-Type R and change – then you’d better get in quick before the UK’s allocation of XL1s is all gone.