Beiruting News

The major details of the VW XL1, the German manufacturer's latest all-composite, 795kg, super-aerodynamic (Cd 0.189), two-door hybrid have been on the record for months.
It is a monocoque car, close enough to production for a run of 250 to have been announced, powered both by a two-cylinder, mid-mounted 800cc diesel engine producing 50bhp and an electric motor that adds another 27bhp.
The XL1's efficiency is already legendary: in windless conditions it needs just 8bhp to maintain a steady 62mph and it can return up to 313mpg. And yet if you were to deploy all available power it would hit 125mph, although for now it's governed at 100mph.
However, airflow management involves more than sleekness. In the XL1's case, engine bay cooling air is collected from a high-pressure area within the rear diffuser and ducted past the engine, exhausting through two 'nostrils' on the car's upper surface.