Volkswagen Resurrects the Spirit of the XL1 Hypermiler With New ‘Near Production’ EV ConceptRoad & TrackFred SmithMon, September 14, 2026 at 3:20 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleVolkswagen Sets Records with New Hypermiling EVVolkswagenBack in the early 2010s, Volkswagen built a moonshot production car going after records a little bit different than the usual top speeds and Nurburgring lap times. The VW XL1 was instead the ultimate hypermiler—a tiny kammback built at great expense strictly around efficiency for efficiency's sake. More than a decade later, that idea is back in a new, record-setting Volkswagen concept, one that the brand intriguingly describes as "near production."More specifically, VW claims that the Vision Efficiency has set three different records in the arcane "near-production four-seater electric vehicle suitable for everyday use" category defined by the Record Institute Germany. That description aims the Vision Efficiency squarely at the similar Mercedes Vision EQXX from 2022, and the Volkswagen beats that car with a record low drag coefficient of 0.158, a record efficiency of 6.48 kWh per 100 km on an ideal trip, and a real-world trip efficiency of 6.89 kWh per 100 km that the company says makes this "the most economical near-production electric car in its class."VolkswagenThe second efficiency claim is the most important, proven over a nearly 800-mile drive through Germany, Czechia, Poland, and Austria. VW says that the car's 54.9 kWh battery was charged only once over the drive and that it finished with a remaining range of 164 kilometers.AdvertisementAdvertisementAfter factoring in charging losses, real world consumption came down to 7.51 kWh per 100 km. In more typical American measurements of efficiency, that is 8.3 miles per kWh. For reference, the production Mercedes CLA delivers about 4.5 miles per kWh in real-world testing. The numbers become even more impressive in comparison to the equally uncompromised EQXX, which Mercedes said was capable of 7.1 miles per kWh. That car's drag coefficient of 0.17 was a hundredth of a point less slippery than the XL1, too.VolkswagenAs efficiency-focused cars like the XL1 and first-generation Honda Insight often do, the concept has covered rear wheels that give it a look reminiscent of the Citroen SM. These are primarily focused on contributing to the record aerodynamics, but they also serve as the lid for a cleverly-hidden storage compartment that VW shows holding the car's charger in a pull-out tray.VolkswagenBut while Benz's "near production" Vision Efficiency looked like something that could actually be built, this particular slippery hatchback seems like it will be more likely to remain a development-only one-off. Mercedes used its similar concept only to showcase ideas and technologies that went into its ultra-efficient CLA-Class road car, never producing an EQXX road car. This Volkswagen—which comes from a company that has major financial questions to wrestle with at the moment—seems unlikely to break from that plan for another limited production run of what would be its second efficiency-focused take on a hypercar.VolkswagenInstead, the Vision Efficiency will likely be used to show off elements that make their way into production cars like the Europe-only ID.Polo. The concept is built on the same MEB+ platform as that car and the similarly-European ID.Cross, bringing over both the battery and 133-hp electric motor driving the front wheels from those production models. Don't expect this kind of efficiency performance from those real-world models just yet, though; VW says that this concept is as efficient at 87 miles per hour as the ID.Polo is at 62 mph.You Might Also LikeIf You Can Only Own One Car, Make It One of TheseThese Are the Most Popular Cars by State