One of the 250 examples produced of the futuristic Volkswagen XL1 has appeared on the Catawiki auction platform. Given the extremely limited production run, vehicles like this appear on the open market exceptionally rarely. The car’s owner hopes to receive around €125,000, although with only a few days left before the end of the bidding, the highest offer has reached just €69,000.
The example offered at auction was produced in 2016 and has covered just 1,600 kilometers. Preserved in immaculate technical and visual condition, the car has long since moved from the category of everyday transportation into the status of a valuable collectible for private collections.
The idea for creating the Volkswagen XL1 belonged to former Volkswagen Group chief Ferdinand Piëch. Development of the project took a full 12 years, with one clear objective – to create a production car capable of consuming just under one liter of fuel per 100 kilometers.
To achieve this incredible result, the engineers built the body and chassis entirely from carbon fiber, reducing the vehicle’s overall weight to a modest 840 kilograms. The aerodynamic drag coefficient was also lowered to a record-breaking 0.189. Beneath the exterior, a centrally mounted 0.8-liter twin-cylinder turbodiesel engine is assisted by a plug-in hybrid system and a 5.5 kWh battery.
According to the European measurement standard, fuel consumption is just 0.9 liters per 100 kilometers, while the car can travel around 50 kilometers entirely on electric power. Total output of 68 horsepower enables acceleration from a standstill to 97 kilometers per hour in around 13 seconds. The model never had sporting ambitions; rather, it was created as a demonstration of the brand’s engineering capabilities.
The current top bid of €69,000 is actually considerably higher than the price achieved at a previous similar auction. In April 2026, during a Bonhams auction in Monaco, a comparable Volkswagen XL1 with 1,426 kilometers on the odometer sold for €29,900, including fees.
This substantial difference in figures highlights the unpredictability of pricing for such boutique models. The pool of potential buyers is small, and for true enthusiasts, value is not measured in speed or practicality, but in the exclusivity of the limited series and the impressive achievement of consuming less than one liter of fuel.