Skip to main content

Volkswagen XL Sport Concept Features Ducati Motorcycle Power




Can a vehicle travel at a top speed of 168 miles per hour, achieve 0 to 100 kilometer per hour acceleration times in just 5.7 seconds from the momentum of two cylinders? The Volkswagen XL Sport concept car presenting itself to the world for the first time in Paris this month boasts those exact impressive performance numbers from a high-revving motorcycle engine.

Think of the Volkswagen XL Sport as a motorcycle with four wheels and a full car body. The concept vehicle was derived from the limited production Volkswagen XL1 plug-in hybrid. On the surface, the XL Sport fits all the criteria to be called a supercar. Radical exterior sculpting of the Volkswagen XL Sport concept results in a 0.258 drag coefficient. Lamborghini's active aerodynamic features including an extendable rear spoiler and adaptive air vents augments the vehicle to achieve an optimum level of downforce. Extensive carbon fiber construction, LED lighting and 18-inch forged magnesium wheels are also characteristics shaping the XL Sport concept design.

The concept vehicle is based on the Volkswagen XL1 plug-in hybrid. A car itself based on a far-out idea car from 2011 that combined electric power with a tiny one-liter turbocharged diesel engine. Defying the thoughts of many, Volkswagen began producing a small run of 250 street-going versions of the XL1. The XL Sport is longer and wider than the XL1 in order to more positively invoke the sense of athletic performance. Wing doors of the Volkswagen XL1 remain intact with fixed polycarbonate windows for decreased weight.





Powering the XL Sport, the concept car relies solely on a 1,199 cc V-twin engine. This engine is from no other than the Ducati 1199 Superleggera motorcycle. the most powerful two-cylinder motorcycle on a production motorcycle, the 1,199 cc V-twin generates 197 horsepower and can roar up to 11,000 rpms. In 2012, Ducati was integrated with the Volkswagen Group (VW Group) of companies. Officially purchased by VW Group subsidiary Audi, the Italian motorcycle manufacturer has kept true to its image prior to Audi's purchase of the company. The Ducati 1199 Superleggera motorcycle production is a premier superbike with only 500 to be built.

While a motorcycle engine powering an actual car is not the norm in the current global vehicle market, there have been a number of production vehicles that have been propelled through this type of powerplant. Several early Honda vehicles such as the S500 sports car as well as the N360 city car were powered by their company's own motorcycle engines. In Formula 1 during the late 1950s, the innovation Cooper race cars that eventually led to the extinction of front-engined grand prix and Indy-style cars originally started with building vehicle using motorcycle engines as the basis.

The Volkswagen XL Sport will be one of many interesting concepts to be previewed ahead for week's opening of the Paris Motor Show.


Information and photo source: Volkwagen AG

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Review

Photo Credit: Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. untitled A companion to the NTT IndyCar Series finale weekend on the streets of Long Beach, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship staged a 26-car race on Saturday consisting of DPi, GTLM and GTD class machines. With the conclusion of the 1-hour, 40-minute Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach sports car event, the overall winner was the #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac shared by the driving duo of Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani. The victory was a decisive weekend for the Whelen Engineering Racing team that had scored the pole position and went on to take the checkered flag with a 10.95-second gap over the #01 Cadillac fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing with Kevin Magnussen and Renger van der Zande. Corvette Racing enjoyed a dominant outing in the GTLM category. Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner in the #4 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R beat the #3 car shared by Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor. Only three GTLM class vehicles ran at Long Be

Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton Quickest In Qatar Qualifying

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. Saturday’s qualifying for the inaugural Formula 1 race in the Arab nation of Qatar has assembled what is certain to be a dramatic opening lap showdown between this season’s title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. In setting the grid for Sunday’s 57-lap main event on the fast, high grip 5.380-kilometer Losail International Circuit, it was the driver of the #44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team race car that took honours. Lewis Hamilton’s pole-winning lap time of 1-minute, 20.827 seconds in the final Q3 session putting a cap on a time trial where the seven-time World Drivers’ Champion handily controlled through the three sessions. Joining Hamilton on the front row of the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix will be Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing machine. The Honda-powered entrant was 0.455 seconds slower than the rival Mercedes race car. With the race at Losail being the third-to-last event on the 2021 Form

Ignition for the Integra: Acura's New 2023 Sport Compact

Photo Credit: American Honda Motor Co., Inc. untitled In August, Honda’s luxury car brand Acura shared an intriguing teaser image accompanied by the revelation that a classic sport compact name would return. Included in a rather familiar close-up promotional shot capturing a headlamp and part of the Diamond Pentagon grille, the key focus was a nameplate reading “Integra”. A rear image of a five-door hatchback shape dropped in late September while a picture of a six-speed manual shifter released in mid-October clearly as a means to tantalize a modern premium sport compact crowd. After a 20-year hiatus, the Integra is once again part of the Acura lineup. A five-door hatchback touting a coupe-like shape, the 2023 Acura Integra will give entry-level luxury car buyers a strong taste of performance attitude. As was the case with the previous Integra models, the Honda Civic platform serves as the basis for this latest premium compact. While the new Civic hatchback’s silhouette i