Volkswagen’s new green concepts may change the way we view green autos.

Even though the Volkswagen brand isn’t the most popular brand in North America, it is just the opposite in Europe. Volkswagen sells millions of autos a year in Europe and needless to say, most of us across the ocean don’t really give the company or its autos much thought (unless you own one, of course). Plus, the brand doesn’t exactly get the press it deserves over here. With that said though, I would like to shed a bit of light on some truly innovative green developments at Volkswagen. Believe it or not, the technologies being developed by Volkswagen may end up in North American made autos in the future.

 Photo: www.vw.ca

E-Up!

The E-Up is the name of Volkswagen’s latest compact concept auto that may eventually put more and more electric autos on the road. This pure electric auto is still in development, as VW hasn’t said much on its range, but the company is expecting big numbers. The E-Up may be the beginning of long-range electric autos. As we know, purely electric autos aren’t the most practical zero-emission ways to travel, nor are they the hippiest thing on the road, which is why they haven’t really caught on.

Right now the E-Up only has a top speed of 84 mph, but it appears as if that will be improved upon by the time the auto is released in 2011. The push button gearshift does make this auto a bit different and to some, an added fun bonus. Speaking of fun, it is also fairly quick for an electric. It can race up to 60 mph from a dead start in 11.3 seconds, which in comparison to other electrics in its class, is pretty fast indeed. This quickness can also be credited to the E-Up’s relatively low weight of 1085 kilograms.

The L1

Along with the E-Up, the VW L1 also made its debut at the 63rd International Motor Show (IAA) held in Frankfurt, Germany this year. According to VW, the L1 is the world’s most fuel efficient car, as it is a diesel hybrid. Even though VW does not offer any fuel mileage numbers, I do not doubt that the L1 has the potential to be the world’s most fuel efficient auto (even if it was only a prototype). Essentially, this auto plans to achieve incredible fuel efficiency through its electric motor, diesel engine and planned light weight.

As we know already, diesel lasts longer than gasoline in a tank, which is why large trucks use diesel. If they used gasoline, they would be filling up much more often and releasing even more environmentally harmful gasses into the atmosphere. The L1 sports a 1.38 litre diesel motor and an electric motor capable of delivering 29kW. Like many other hybrids, this auto will shut off while it is stopped (i.e. at a stoplight) and restart once the gas pedal is pushed down. It is also a “skinny” auto at roughly four feet in width.

I find the L1 quite innovative because of the philosophy behind its planned construction and assembly. VW plans to construct and assemble the L1 using as little energy as possible. To do this the company plans to use lightweight materials to construct an aerodynamically superior auto. The material is aluminum (the chassis) and much of the aerodynamics is quite similar to a Lamborghini. The safety in this auto will be unprecedented, as much of the body will be composed of carbon fibre. Plus, much of the safety technology is borrowed from F1 Indy Cars and airplanes.

VW plans to start mass-producing the L1 in 2013, which seems just about the right amount of time to further hone the auto.

E-Tron

The final green auto that caught my eye is from Audi. Audi, which is owned by VW, recently unveiled their plans for the E-Tron. The E-Tron will be a high performance pure electric auto, much like the Tesla Roadster. The E-Tron will have 313 horsepower, be able to accelerate to 60 mph (from a dead stop) in roughly 4.8 seconds (at least that’s the plan) and hit a top speed of 125 mph. Long story short, that isn’t bad at all for an electric. It will come with a lithium ion battery that will provide 42.4 kW hours of energy and give it a range of 154 miles. That isn’t a huge range, but it is a big step forward, especially in such a high performance electric.

There is no word when the E-Tron will be available to the public, much less when a concept version will be built and tested. Nevertheless, this is the kind of auto that gear heads and environmentalists alike can get excited about.

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