XL1 tech to spread across VW range

* Diesel-electric hybrid technology shared * More cost-effective production methods * Technology to improve economy and safety...

XL1 tech to spread across VW range

The technology offered on the ultra-efficient Volkswagen XL1 will feature throughout the company's next generation of cars, according to VW Group engineering boss Ulrich Hackenberg.

Volkswagen will integrate the new technology to help improve safety and boost fuel economy.

One example of this is a pair of cameras, which the XL1 uses in place of traditional door mirrors. These offer benefits such as reducing headlight glare from following vehicles.

Hackenberg also told What Car? that the bodywork from the XL1 could well make it to future Volkswagens. He claims that new production methods make the high-tech bodywork more cost-effective to produce.

He said 'If you look at supercars that have carbonfibre [bodywork], it takes 10 or 20 hours to make, but our way takes half an hour or less.'

Read our Volkswagen XL1 first drive review >>

By Tom Webster