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Did you miss out on buying one of Volkswagen’s zany XL1 diesel hybrids a few years back? If so, it’s all right—the company only sold 200 of them to the public. A 2015 model-year example has popped up for sale across the pond, though, so if you’ve got the means (and a way to smuggle it into the States), now might be your only chance to own one of these futuristic-looking two-seaters.
This silver-on-black XL1 is one of just 250 ever produced. Previous ownership history of this specific car is quite limited but having supposedly accumulated only 300 miles, it’s seen very little use. That’s clearly reflected in its listed price of around $103,970, which hasn’t deviated too far from its original MSRP of around $128,113.
The XL1 may look like a concept car, but it actually reached production as a pilot project showcasing Volkswagen’s revolutionary diesel-hybrid powertrain technology before the infamous Dieselgate scandal. Driving the XL1’s rear wheels through a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic is an 800 cc twin-cylinder turbodiesel engine churning out around 47 horsepower in tandem with an additional 27-hp electric motor, for a grand total of 74.
Hardly blistering numbers, but its performance wasn’t geared towards breakneck speeds; instead, it focused on efficiency. At its peak, the XL1 could travel up to 62 miles on just under a liter of diesel, returning the equivalent of 260 miles per gallon on the U.S. cycle. With its 5.5-kilowatt-hour battery pack, the XL1 could also travel up to 31 miles on all-electric propulsion and plug-in capabilities meant you could charge it like an EV.
Thanks to its streamlined shape, the XL1 featured one of the lowest drag coefficients of any new vehicle at the time with a 0.189 rating. And because it only tipped the scales at 1,753 pounds, it could still manage a 0-60 time of 11.9 seconds along with a top speed of 98 miles per hour.
You don’t have to tell us your master plan of sneaking this thing past U.S. officials, but we do want picture proof if you manage it one way or another.
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