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By Darren Cooper, MD, at The Peter Cooper Motor Group on the Volkswagen XL1
More than thirteen years ago, we were offered the chance to buy something truly extraordinary: one of only 250 Volkswagen XL1s ever built.
At £100,000, it cost twice as much as any other car in the Volkswagen range at the time. But the moment I saw it, one thing was for certain we were never going to sell it.
Even today, the XL1 still stops people in their tracks. It looks more like a supercar from the future than a 0.8 litre, 2-cylinder diesel hybrid that only develops 68 Bhp…conceived over a decade ago. The styling has aged remarkably well; only the old Garmin sat nav hints at the era it came from. Volkswagen called it the world’s most economical production car, and with its diesel plug-in hybrid powertrain capable of a staggering 313 miles per gallon, it earned the title. In theory, I could have driven it to Cornwall on a single gallon of fuel. Of course, I never actually tried.
I drove it recently and was reminded just how much fascination it still creates. Partly because it is so rare the only other one I know nearby belongs to the National Motor Museum, but also because people simply never see them on the road.
Driving it is an experience unlike any other. It was never designed for speed or sharp cornering, and comfort certainly wasn’t the priority; the only 2 seats are unsocially staggered, one slightly further behind, allowing a narrower body shape and it also doesn’t have power steering to minimise weight…the entire car only weighs 795kg. But the gullwing doors, narrow wheels and futuristic rear end make it feel like a glimpse into tomorrow. It pioneered the carbon fibre reinforced plastic body panels; ultra-light magnesium wheels; rear wheel covers to reduce the drag coefficient to just 0.186…still unmatched today! It even had ‘camera mirrors’…tiny e-mirrors that feeds the rear-viewimage to small screens inside the door panels.
Instead, the XL1 became something far more special. Over the years it has stolen the spotlight at events, golf tournaments, motor shows, and tours across our Volkswagen dealerships in Southampton, Hedge End, Portsmouth and Chichester. Wherever it appears, customers and crowds gather around it.
I’m incredibly glad Volkswagen made the XL1. It has brought joy to thousands of enthusiasts over the years, and I suspect that even on its 25th anniversary, it will still look every bit as futuristic as the day it arrived.
