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What can you say about a car that has no doors, at 188mpg makes the Toyota Prius look like a gas guzzler and will sell for around €11,000 ($15,000).? This could be the 21st Century VW Beetle. It manages the gas mileage mainly due to its light weight 450 kg (990 lbs). Having no doors, the front passengers get in through the hood and rear passengers through the trunk. That will get the neighbors attention even if its other design elements don’t. The car will be entered in the Automotive X-Prize for the first commercially viable car to get over 100mpg.
It will be available with two engines; a two-cylinder 20bhp turbodiesel ‘LS’ or a three-cylinder 50bhp ‘GT’ turbodiesel, which ‘only’ returns 105mpg.
The Loremo manages this feat through its super-lightweight construction - the standard car weighing just 450kg – and ultra-low drag. Naturally emissions are as low as the fuel economy is high, at under 50g/km of CO2.
The LS hits 62mph in 20sec and tops out at 99mph, the GT 9sec and 137mph. Both cars have five-speed manual gearboxes.
The engine sits in the middle of the car, powering the rear wheels. This means that the rear seats, which are rear-facing, are suitable only for children. Those seats are accessed via the boot, but it’s the way you get into the front of the car that will most surprise. The entire front section of the car hinges forward, dashboard included, and you climb aboard.
(autocar)
References: gizmag, autocar
Filed In: autos,
eco,
lifestyle,
science
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