In fact the XL1 has 48bhp to call on, delivered courtesy of an 800cc two-cylinder diesel engine, plus another 27bhp available from an electric motor. People who drove it at its launch said the combination in a super-slippery car weighing so little gave it lively feel; 0-62mph was officially 12.7secs and top speed governed at 100mph. As a plug-in hybrid, it could also glide around on zero emissions electric power, for up to 30 miles at a time.
It is a shame VW never got around to making the high performance version – to be powered by the 187bhp engine from the Ducati 1199 Panigale superbike – but compensation comes in the form of a combined fuel economy of… 313mpg. CO2 emissions are 21g/km.
Of the 200 made it was said that up to 30 were coming to the UK, each priced at £98,515. We’ve never seen one on the road, never seen one at all in fact since it was a highlight of VW’s display at the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard a few years ago.
Silverstone Auctions, which is selling the car at the NEC Classic Car Show, has put a guide price of £95-115,000 on it.
Images courtesy of Silverstone Auctions