
With gas prices going through the roof and regulators requiring cars to be ever more miserly, Volkswagen is bringing new meaning to the term "fuel efficiency" with a bullet-shaped microcar that gets a stunning 282 235 mpg.
Volkswagen's had its super-thrifty One-Liter Car concept vehicle -- so named because that's how much fuel it needs to go 100 kilometers -- stashed away for six years. The body's made of carbon fiber to minimize weight (the entire car weighs just 660 pounds) and company execs didn't expect the material to become cheap enough to produce the car until 2012. But VW's decided to build the car two years ahead of schedule.
I've seen this concept car before, but this article goes into more detail, and has more photos, along with the news that Volkswagen may put it into limited production by 2010. Pricey, but of course its use of carbon fiber for the shell and also the tires, plus liberal use of magnesium, titanium and aluminum to bring down its weight make it so. Has a diesel engine. Can't wait to see it in action...
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