With oil prices at $135 dollars per barrel, the pressure is on for car makers
to innovate and create more fuel efficient vehicles. Volkswagen seems to be
taking this task seriously with
the 1L, a prototype that is capable of traveling for 235mpg using 1 gallon of
gasoline, or 100km on 1L of gas. Adding to the excitement of this
breakthrough is recent news that VW plans to get this concept out to market in
2010!
The 1L is a lightweight two person vehicle made out of a magnesium frame
covered by an unpainted carbon fiber skin. Every component of the vehicle is
intended to reduce the vehicles weight. Aluminum brakes, carbon fiber wheels,
titanium hubs, and ceramic bearings all contribute to the vehicle's light weight
of a mere 290 kg. To reduce the weight even further, and to increase the
aerodynamics of the vehicle, there are no rear view mirrors. Instead, the car is
equipped with cameras that display visual information to the driver via the
internal LCD screen.
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