You might be surprised to see a car with the VW badge in a gallery about "exotic" cars. But this is the same company that makes Lamborghinis, Bentleys and Bugattis, so it's not like they know nothing about extreme automobiles. And the XL1 is about as extreme as they come, just in a different way.
It's a plug-in hybrid with a tiny 0.8-liter, 2-cylinder diesel engine. It's so small that its two seats aren't even side-by-side. The passenger sits a few inches aft of the driver so both have some shoulder room.
Everything's about fuel economy. There's also no power steering. There is plenty of engine noise since sound insulation would add unwanted weight. With all that, you can drive about 30 miles without burning any fuel at all. After that, you still get 160 miles per gallon. VW's only making 250 and they won't be sold in the U.S.
