Sunday 28 April 2013

VW diesel mini for China?


 A single-seat car from Volkswagen offering 100km/litre appears on various blogs as the shape of things to come: a car from China that costs $600 and can achieve 258 miles/gallon using a single cylinder diesel engine.

Blogs claim it is not toy but will be introduced next year in China – a single-seater aerodynamic car that carries VW branding.

In fact, Volkswagen completed much of the testing under high security in Germany.

It was introduced earlier this year to Volkswagen AG stockholders as ‘the most economical car in the world’.

 The initial goal of the prototype was to prove that one litre of fuel could deliver 100 km of travel. But the aerodynamic profile contributed to the winning result.

However, even with its spartan interior no sacrifice was made on safety as the car has roll-over bars and impact protection comparable with a GT car.

The body is 3.47m in length, 1.25m wide and about 1m high; it is constructed entirely of carbon fibre – an expensive aeronautical material. To save weight it has not been painted.

The single-cylinder diesel is positioned ahead of the rear axle; an automatic gear shift is controlled from inside the cabin using a single lever.

Blogs ask the question: Have Chrysler, Ford and General Motors missed the boat again?                                                  


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