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  • I'm really excited today because I finally have a chance to drive this beauty,

  • the pinnacle of automotive technology - the Bugatti Veyron.

  • It has an 8L engine,

  • 16 cylinders,

  • 4 turbochargers and in this version 1,200hp and 1,500Nm.

  • I learnt it all by heart so that I don't mess anything up.

  • Overall, 450 Veyrons will be produced.

  • But can you imagine that this is not the most exclusive vehicle produced by Volkswagen Group?

  • The Volkswagen XL1 is Piech's famous 1-litre car.

  • Many years ago the head of Volskwagen announced that the company could build a car

  • which would consume just 1 litre of fuel per 100 km.

  • And it's this very car.

  • There will be just 200 of those on the market

  • and the whole batch for the German market has already been sold.

  • We've landed in Phaeno, an equivalent of Warsaw's Copernicus Science Centre, in Wolfsburg.

  • "Landed" is the right word which goes perfectly with our vehicles or rather our "space ships".

  • These cars have a rather unusual appearance.

  • This car is a perfect match with this place because it's truly unique.

  • It's built entirely from carbon fibre with just a few aluminium components.

  • It has 2 engines - electric with 27hp and diesel with 48hp.

  • It's right here.

  • Thanks to the use of carbon fibre, this car weighs only 795kg.

  • The whole concept of a car's been reinvented, the XL1 is different from an ordinary car in nearly every respect.

  • But it does have wheels, right?

  • It does, but at the back they're hidden to cut air resistance.

  • The radiator is also interesting. Its inlet in ordinary cars would be at the front, right?

  • Whereas here, it's at the back.

  • When you drive, low pressure is generated here, air is sucked to the radiator through here

  • and comes out warm on top through here.

  • How many radiators do you have?

  • One, but cleverly hidden.

  • OK, great. Really fascinating.

  • I have 10 radiators here and I don't need to lift a carbon fibre lid to show you the engine.

  • Look, 16 cylinders, 4 turbos and 1,200hp.

  • Let me put it this way - I'm not impressed.

  • The tyres I have in my car cost EUR25,000 per set

  • and this is probably why we've never seen a Veyron going sideways on dry grippy tarmac.

  • And we probably won't be seeing it today either.

  • But we can have a ride.

  • The Volkswagen XL1 is innovative in pretty much every aspect.

  • For example, instead of side mirrors it has cameras on both sides.

  • It's one of the reasons why there was trouble getting a vehicle approval for this car in Poland.

  • However, since last Friday the problem has been solved and the XL1 can be registered in our country.

  • The first impression when you get into the car is quite intimidating.

  • I can't imagine anyone unleashing its full potential.

  • On the left we have a dial which shows how much power is being used or rather generated at a given moment.

  • It's now indicating around 100hp.

  • Just 100, imagine what happens when it hits the 1,200 mark.

  • We're about to find out because there's a tractor in front of us and we'll have to overtake it.

  • I've downshifted to 2nd gear, I'll wait till the road ahead clears and let's go.

  • Now here's a car for the Polish roads full of trucks,

  • tractors and various surprises which can spring up at any moment giving you just a split second to overtake.

  • I'm only in 3rd gear now and there's 7 altogether.

  • You can imagine what kind of acceleration you can achieve in time,

  • how fast you can sprint to, say, 300km/h.

  • According to Bugatti, this car hits 300km/h in 14.6 s, whereas the XL1 goes 0-100km/h in 12.7.

  • So in the time the XL1 reaches 100-120km/h the Bugatti blasts to 300.

  • While Szymon is cruising around in the Veyron,

  • which consumes insane amounts of fuel easily reaching 20-30L per 100km, we're calmly driving in the XL1,

  • which consumes around 1-2L per 100km.

  • For the first 50km of leaving your garage with fully charged batteries,

  • you can drive in the electric mode. However, the 2-cylinder 0.8L diesel engine with 48hp is helping all along.

  • Firstly, it re-charges the batteries if they go flat and secondly, it drives the wheels.

  • This car weighs nearly 2 tonnes but is peppered with technology, t

  • this amazing mechanical force from the huge engine delivering power to 4 wheels

  • through a 7-speed twin-clutch gearbox.

  • It's become synonymous with luxury, speed and incredible price.

  • Right now, to become the owner of a new Veyron you have to spend EUR 2 million plus excise duty,

  • which would total around PLN 10 million.

  • You can really feel the low weight in this car.

  • The steering in the Volkswagen XL1 is not power assisted,

  • which is no problem at all because the wheel turns effortlessly even when the car's not moving.

  • It's all down to the front wheels which are very narrow.

  • They're 11 cm wide and look like somebody's taken them from a motorcycle.

  • The sound inside is incredible.

  • The Veyron is this mechanical hornet, an insect flapping its mechanical wings all the time.

  • You can hear the 8L engine puffing from time to time through its 4 blowoff valves.

  • The Volkswagen XL1 is one extreme car.

  • Fuel consumption in the range of 1-2 litres per 100km is hugely impressive but unfortunately so is the price.

  • The XL1 costs EUR 111,000,

  • which means that the cost of 1hp is higher than in the Bugatti Veyron driving in front of us.

  • I've just located the on-board computer, which you switch on with a small lever.

  • For a while I thought that the Veyron consumes 30.5L per 100km

  • but it's just turned out that it's the outside temperature.

  • It's 30.5 ̊ C.

  • In fact, during our test drive this car is consuming 34.9L per 100km.

  • A 100L fuel tank will let you have a fast drive for about 300km.

  • What acceleration!

  • Obviously, the Veyron comes with ceramic brakes and a rear wing, which rises when you have to brake hard.

  • They're necessary to shed speed.

  • Just think about it - Bugatti really wants to keep its customers

  • because the company will soon introduce a new car which will be marketed at an exorbitant price again.

I'm really excited today because I finally have a chance to drive this beauty,

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