Volkswagen will be lining up at the start of this year’s Silvretta E-Car Rally with two innovative vehicles: the e-up!, the first electric vehicle from Volkswagen to be produced in high volume, and the XL1, the most efficient production car in the world, which is equipped with a plug-in diesel hybrid engine.
The new Volkswagen e-up! is taking part in the Silvretta E-Car Rally in the Austrian Montafon region for the first time. With its Alpine route profile, the rally is both a test of reliability and highly demanding, as the challenge is to recover large amounts of the power used on the long uphill climbs through battery regeneration on the subsequent downhill sections.
With a totally electric drive system the Volkswagen e-up! is a car for everyday use, with impressively high torque of 210 Nm. The e-up! is powered by an electric motor that delivers a maximum output of 60 kW / 80 HP. It thus accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 12.4 seconds and achieves a top speed of 130 km/h (81 mph). With its 18.7 kWh lithium-ion battery it has a reach according to NEDC of up to 160 kilometers (99 miles). The e-up! can be charged with 2.3 kW plugged into any standard 230V socket, with 3.6 kW via a home-installed wall box or with up to 40 kW plugged into a DC fast-charging station via the optional CSS (combined charging system). In the latter case, the battery is 80 percent charged in under 30 minutes.
The entry-level price of the e-up! in Germany as a base model inclusive of battery is €26,900 (about $34,000 US).
This autumn at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, Volkswagen will announce further details on how the vehicle is to be marketed, including, for example, leasing and flexible car hire packages.
The Volkswagen XL1 is the most fuel-efficient production car in the world, with a fuel consumption value of 0.9 l/100 km (313 mpg UK or 261 mpg US).
Thanks to its plug-in hybrid system, the Volkswagen XL1 can also cover a distance of up to 50 km (31 miles) in all-electric mode and therefore with zero local emissions.
The XL1 is an automotive hero that follows pure sports car design principles: low weight (795 kg), perfect aerodynamics (Cd 0.189) and a low centre of gravity (1,153 mm high).
This gives the efficient Volkswagen the ability to cruise on the road at a constant speed of 100 km/h using just 6.2 kW/8.4 PS. In all-electric mode, the XL1 requires less than 0.1 kWh to cover a driving distance of over one kilometer.
High-tech lightweight design, perfect aerodynamics and a plug-in hybrid system – consisting of a two-cylinder TDI engine (35 kW / 48 PS), E-motor (20 kW / 27 PS), 7-speed dual clutch gearbox (DSG) and lithium-ion battery – all make it possible for the new Volkswagen XL1 to emit just 21 g/km of CO2. If necessary, the XL1, with a top speed of 160 km/h, can accelerate to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in just 12,7 seconds.
