Hackenberg hints on future cars, with the members of the social media in rapt attention
Volkswagen plans to use the 0.8 liter diesel hybrid drivetrain from its futuristic, ultra-efficient and ultra-expensive (no pricing announced) XL1 two-seater in a future regular small car, Volkswagen’s R&D Chief Ulrich Hackenberg said today in an interview in Wolfsburg’s Autostadt. Said Hackenberg:
“I made this drivetrain so that it can be placed in another car. You will see it in the near future in another car as a plug-in hybrid. “
Asked whether that car would also be available in the U.S., Hackenberg said that “it is maybe too small for the US.”
The engine produces 47 hp. The electric motor can add another 27 hp when needed.
This would be the first time Volkswagen migrates technology from its 261 mpg lightweight XL1 to other mainstream products. According to Hackenberg,
“The XL1 is a beacon vehicle, it is full of future technologies. We made this car to demonstrate that it is possible to transfer all or some this to volume technologies.”
This near future small car will not be the rumored low cost car of Volkswagen. Hackenberg today confirmed the plans for such a low-cost car: “We are working on a low cost car. We are in the beginning stages, but we know what we have to do.”
Low cost cars are seen as essential for a successful motorization for many emerging markets. Nissan is expected to launch its revived Datsun brand with a low-cost car. The launch is in New Delhi, India , on July 15.
Why would it be too small here? We have trucks, they have trucks. If it’s not too slow for the autobahn, it ought to do fine on our commuter-choked interstates.
He is probably thinking it is too small both from a physical size perspective (sub-compacts do not sell that well in the US) and from a horsepower perspective. Remember some complain if a midsize sedan doesn`t have around 200hp and you can get 270+hp in some mid-size cars. In Europe mid-sizers start around 120hp. So it is a different set of market demands.
Horsepower requirements would mean at least doubling the size of the electric engine, which in turn would likely require doubling the size of the battery (more for delivering power than storage) or having a lot of ultracapacitors. Americans aren’t known for paying for all that cost in small cars.
If you could build this into something like the original Saturns it might do well, but I have no idea just how impossible it would be to get a Saturn up to modern safety requirements (think ~2000lbs).
As predicted, it doesn’t actually get 261 mpg; it’s been tested to something closer to 160 mpg in the Spartan XL1 configuration.
Make it a 4-seater for the US, boost the horsepower to something higher than laughable, upgrade it for Federal safety requirements, add the sound deadening it desperately needs, and it will end up as a slow 120 HP diesel hybrid that gets 70 mpg and costs $48k.
120 mpg (US) on diesel alone, leaving the battery uncharged. I think everything on the market today uses twice as much fuel (leaving plug-ins out of the equation).
Tata should just get out!
Let’s see…batteries, diesel engine and electric motor. That wouldn’t be a ticking-time-bomb of a combination if it weren’t a European automaker. VW Group should try it out on Bentley, since Bentleys aren’t driven often enough to experience mechanical failure.
Perhaps the bottle that he is drinking from, is not water but Schnapps.
Now seriously, he clearly states this is a “beacon vehicle”.