Two-cylinder engine
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We didn't expect the Volkswagen XL1 to be as much fun to drive as it is. Which makes it doubly a shame that Volkswagen won't be selling its radically efficient, two-seat, plug-in diesel hybrid XL1 model in North America. At a price of € 111,000 (roughly $153,000), the 250 XL1 cars that Volkswagen will build and sell in Europe are akin to a pricier modern-day analogue to the original 2000 Honda Insight. Like that pioneering hybrid, the two-seat XL1 is supremely aerodynamic (its drag coefficient is 0.19), very light (1,750 pounds), and uses a tiny engine paired with an electric motor...
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KSPG To Test Clever V-Twin Range Extender In Electric Fiat 500Range extenders, small gasoline engines that produce electricity to run electric cars after their battery packs discharge, will likely see huge innovation in the coming years. While the Chevy Volt and Fisker Karma both use off-the-shelf GM engines as range extenders, many companies are working on...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen Says It Will Build 2-Seat, 260-MPG Plug-In Hybrid
What's good gas mileage? 30 mpg? 40 mpg? The 50-mpg combined rating of the 2011 Toyota Prius, the most fuel-efficient car sold in the U.S. this year? Nah. How about 261 miles per gallon? Or, for the Europeans in the house, a mere 24 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. You heard right. The...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen Won’t Follow Fiat’s Lead With Two-Cylinder Engine
In Europe Fiat sells its funky 500 minicar with an optional 0.9-liter two-cylinder engine that when equipped with an automatic transmission returns an impressive fuel economy of 57.4 mpg for the European combined cycle. With Volkswagen now working on a similar sized vehicle, the upcoming Up...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Fiat 500 Gets Two-Cylinder Engine In Europe, U.S. Arrival Unlikely
Europeans fans of the Fiat 500 will soon be able to opt for what the automaker is claiming to be the world's most fuel-efficient gasoline engine, a tiny two-cylinder engine displacing just 0.9-liters. It will be launched in European versions of the 500 and 500C convertible this September but...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran
