The Most Efficient Car Ever

摘要

For years, automakers have worked to push fuel economy beyond 100 miles per gallon. Reaching that mark typically meant three things: cutting weight, maximizing aerodynamics, and improving powertrain efficiency. In 1999, Volkswagen engineers got close with the Lupo 3L, a three-cylinder coupe that could go 78.4 miles on one gallon of diesel. Not satisfied, VW tasked star engineer Ulrich Hackenberg, whose resume includes work at Bentley and Bugatti, with breaking the lOOmpg barrier. Hackenberg's team crushed that goal-and then some. In tests, their new XL1 got a mind-bending 261 mpg.