VOLKSWAGEN XL1

An excellent little rarity from early 2013 by VW. A design marvel weighing in at only 795kg helped by a full carbon shell, the XL1 used a 900cc Diesel hybrid / electric car giving outstanding economy to become the most economical car in the world. The 7 speed DSG gearbox helping to return a world breaking 340mpg! (although these were VW figures…)

XL1_©VW
VW XL1 ©VWgroup

To originally buy one, you had to ‘register an interest’ on the VW site, which with a retail price of £98,500 you certainly would have had a great interest… it was believed initial response was strong before the confirmed pricing was announced.

XL1_2
VW XL1 ©VWgroup
VW_XL1-Wing-mirror-replacement
The replacement for a wing mirror! ©VWgroup

A total of 200 were to be made and only sold in Europe. According to VW France, 39 XL1s were sold in there. Initially, 250 were planned, this seems to of been changed. With the expectation of strong sales, it was hoped to be followed by different variations and editions including a Ducati 1199 Superleggera version, only one of them was made and shown at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2014. That project has been confined to the history books. Recent talk of a four-door version has still not emerged…

volkswagen-xl1-1
No UK cars exist in red. ©autoexpress

Sales in the UK were limited to 30 cars and from my calculations, it seemed that only a few were sold directly to the customers. Over half of the cars looked like they were sold to main-dealers as ‘show-cars’. A few still remain within the dealer network as one dealer owner cars. They were offered in a range of VW colours but most of the UK cars so far have come up in just 4 shades of Oryx White, Reflex Silver, Clearwater Blue & Grey. With the Oryx White, being the most popular colour. The final imported number is believed to be 26 UK cars. With just 24 ever being registered. (Two being retained by VW UK). It’s thought some have been exported. One was exported to Hong Kong from new. Howmanymade have 23 different cars. 13 in white, 8 in silver, 1 in Light Blue & 1 in a Custom Order Grey. As of now, that’s the most complete breakdown there is.

XL1_4
Interior. All cars were LHD ©vwgroup

Have a quick look at the ORIGINAL BROCHURE

A FULL REPORT WILL BE ADDED IN THE FUTURE…

If this has been helpful in some way, then please mention where you got the information with an ” According to http://www.howmanymade.co.uk ” – Would be Greatly Appreciated for all the time I do to research and to get correct information – Regards, Mike.

©howmanymade

16 thoughts on “VOLKSWAGEN XL1”

    1. Yeah, not sure how investable they will be in the future but in the great scheme of things, A £100k VW still doing the same price years later isn’t too bad. Guess they should have been priced about £65k ideally when new and they may have sold more to customers rather than being registered by garages… < Mike.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. Thanks for a very interesting and useful website! I actually purchased a new UK spec XL1 when they first came out. I was told that 24 cars came to the UK, one of which was immediately exported to Singapore. I have so far done over 5000 miles in mine. It’s easily the most interesting and fun car I’ve ever owned, and that’s really saying something. It’s always been my understanding that VW built 250 of the XL1 and that 50 of those were kept back to be used in connection with “ongoing research” in Germany, the remaining 200 being sold to the public. They originally cost £95k in the UK because of the £5000 grant/discount that applied to electric/hybrid cars, so the white one that sold for £103k in November 2018 actually showed an £8k increase in value. The light blue one that was later offered at the Silverstone Auctions January 2019 sale failed to sell at £92k, though that didn’t surprise me as the interior was badly scuffed (perhaps because the VW dealer that owned it had presumably allowed anyone visiting the showroom to try it out for size?). I exhibit my XL1 at a lot of car shows, mainly in the SW of England. So far (touch wood) it’s been very reliable, and a surprisingly practical and usable two seater.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Hi – And thanks for the positive feedback. Yeah, I heard 24 as a number sold in the UK, interesting your comments mention the other cars. I think they will be a definite future classic and should hold their money quite well. Let me know if you hear anything else of numbers or interesting information about the cars – Much appreciated, Mike

      Like

      Reply

  4. Thank you very much for the website! Unfortunately, we don’t have the equivalent in France…

    I want to take this opportunity for another request. I’m working on a project in the automotive sector. The topic is: “How to create enthusiasm with energy sobriety ?” In that way, I would love to meet an XL1 owner’s who is using this car in his daily life. Our aim is to define the customer target of that kind of car. It would be a great help!

    Sincerely,

    LP

    Like

    Reply

    2. The owners of XL1’s in the UK do not use them very much, I assume because they are extremely valuable and so rare. I was told by VW UK that I have done the biggest mileage in mine (I have done over 7000 miles, in all kinds of weather except snow!) and that, even so, it is in the best condition of all the UK cars! (they know this because they service all of them at the VW Technical Centre in Milton Keynes, England). I have always tried to keep it looking brand new. Most of my mileage was done in driving to car shows or rallies, but I have happily used the car to do things like going shopping or to the dentist etc. I have another car (an “ordinary” VW!) for daily use, but if I had to use the XL1 all the time as my only car it would be no problem at all of course – the car is very well built and reliable. I just prefer to use it only for “special” journeys, that’s all. I heard that there are some owners in Germany who use their XL1 every day as their main car and that does not surprise me.

      Like

      Reply

      3. Hi Ed,
        Great to see that you use yours as a ‘daily’.
        Would be great to hear about your ownership experiences?
        Steve (Bristol)
        I saw the red one mentioned earlier in Germany last year

        Like

      4. Hi Steve, I made this video about my XL1: search On YouTube for “Quick tour of my Volkswagen XL1”.
        Regards, Ed

        Like

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.