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Volkswagen 1-litre

If you're an 'average' motorist, you spend £1,200 a year on fuel - that's the cost of travelling 12,000 miles in a typical family car in Britain today. If you covered the same distance in VW's 'bubblecar', you'd pay £150.

By Andrew English

July 2003

If you're an 'average' motorist, you spend ΂£1,200 a year on fuel - that's the cost of travelling 12,000 miles in a typical family car in Britain today. If you covered the same distance in VW's 'bubblecar', you'd pay ΂£150.

This tandem two-seater research vehicle was the dream of former VW Group chairman Ferdinand Piech, and his final act as boss was to drive the car from his Wolfsburg office to the VW shareholders' meeting in Hamburg. He recorded an amazing 317.4mpg at an average speed of 43.5mph. Before the car is retired to the museum, VW gave us the chance to drive it and prove the figures were for real.

The strange-looking coup

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FIRST OPINION

    The 1-litre was never meant to be sold to the public - and it shows. It's slow, noisy and harsh. But the car proves what can be done with weight saving, aerodynamics, design and detail. We won't get 300mpg out of ordinary road machines yet, but VW has learned how to boost overall fuel economy with meticulous engineering.
 

AT A GLANCE

    Ultra-frugal two-seater pioneers technology for future models
    Best return yet is 400mpg
     
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