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Automotive

Volkswagen's NILS - a single-seater electric sportscar for the road

By Mike Hanlon
September 01, 2011
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Volkswagen has once more produced a minimalist and frugal commuter vehicle for its home auto show in Frankfurt, and this one has us quite excited. NILS is an F1-inspired single-seat electric concept with an aluminum space frame, gull-wing doors and thanks to its extreme light weight (460 kg), small frontal area, it offers sports car performance at speeds up to 130 km/h from a small 25kW electric motor. The electric motor's 130 Nm of torque offers rapid acceleration and although the range is limited to just 65 kilometers (40 miles), it recharges from empty in just two hours from a conventional 230-volt electrical outlet.

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AutomotiveVolkswagenElectricFrankfurt Motor Show 2011
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Mike Hanlon
As a photojournalist, Mike’s work has been published in a dozen languages across 20+ countries. He has edited or managed over 75 different print publications, each with a different target audience: sports, automotive, advertising, marketing, design, ad infinitum. Mike has been working in the internet for more than 25 years and was the veteran of five internet start-ups before founding New Atlas in 2002.
26 comments
Greg693
OOooohhhhh! I like this! I would buy it today if it were available. Give it more range and I am there yesterday!
3HullsRbest
More eye candy with no real plans for the market.
Racqia Dvorak
goes up to 80 mph..... that\'s not sports car performance.
Fred Smith
VW teased us for the last 10 years or so with the possible production of their 1-Litre car and its successors, and on occasion they hinted that they might make it, but they never did. This car will never see production either, so I certtainly can\'t get excited about yet another VW prototype -- no matter how much I would like to own and drive one if it was affordable.
Slowburn
Give it a half liter water cooled engine and an absorption refrigerant air conditioning and you will have a good second car commuter.
Joseph Breton
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL AND FUTURISTIC !,
HOWEVER THINK ABOUT THIS;
#1. WITH THIS RANGE, YOU DRIVE FOR ONE HOUR AT 40 MPH SO THAT YOU CAN STOP FOR TWO HOURS TO RECHARGE. . . . AND THEN CONTINUE.
#2. ONE SEATER ONLY . . . WITH NO ROOM TO SPARE!.

GOOGLE T.25 (75 MPG) IF YOU WANT SMALL, WITH SPACE AND SEATS 3, EV OR GAS. ALSO, VESPA SEATS 2, IS MUCH FASTER AND 76 MPG.
THIS IS A GOOD LOOKING FAILURE AND \"BLACK EYE\" FOR VW, SHOULD THEY DECIDE TO PROCEED WITH ANYTHING LIKE THIS, EVEN IF IT\'S JUST A CONCEPT.
DemonDuck
Oh boy, I would just love to be caught in a traffic jam on the freeway waiting for the battery to go flat.....
Tommygun
Wow, so much negativity in the comments. I think this is amazing but whether I\'d buy one would depend on the price. Being so small and I suspect not necessarily particularly high tech and with presumably quite a small (cheap) batter I would think something like this could be MASS produced quite cheaply. It would of course have limited appeal but for many people, it could be a winner. It\'s 10Km to me work in stop start traffic. If I were to drive ( I actually ride a motorbike), this would be perfect. On the way to work I see hundreds of commuters (Auckland, New Zealand), many by themselves and in large SUV\'s. That\'s just not right. These babies would consume no fossil fuels and could potentially be powered by renewable resources (New Zealand already 70% electricity from renewables and climbing). I take my wife\'s car in the morning to the gym. I feel a bit guilty. It reports 40 litres/ 100km fuel consumption whilst cold which is nearly the whole way. If I had that VW, I\'d use that and consume no fuel and feel great about it. :-)
mharo
I say lets do what I read awhile ago. The city should buy a fleet of vehicles (not necessarily these) and people pay for a membership to use them. You can drive them, leave them anywhere and when you need another one, you just walk up to it, swipe your card, get in and drive it home. No insurance, no maintenance, no fuel costs.
voluntaryist
Excellent curb weight but what about the drag? Acceleration? Price? Battery life? These are all questions that need to be answered before we can evaluate fully. And with a top speed of 78 mph I hardly think this qualifies as a sports car. The single seat is a sign this is not a serious attempt to provide an EV. Two seats minimum are required my most people. If I were VW I would be embarrassed.
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