Volkswagen's efficiency-focused EV prototype borrows a trick from Slate

Volkswagen took the covers off a new prototype electric vehicle Monday, one capable of hitting the equivalent of 323 miles per gallon under ideal conditions — making it one of the most efficient cars in the world. Rather than float a pie-in-the-sky concept, Volkswagen built the EV and drove it from its home base in Wolfsburg, Germany, on a 794-mile (1,278-kilometer) trip to Vienna, charging once along the way and arriving with 104 miles (168 kilometers) of range left, for a consumption of 7.51 kilowatt-hours per 100 miles, or about 279 MPGe.

The teardrop-shaped Mission Efficiency prototype uses the electric motor and battery from the ID. Polo, which Volkswagen says brings it to “near production” status, though the company hasn’t committed to actually building it. By some back-of-the-envelope math, the prototype can get more than 400 miles of range from a 54.9-kilowatt-hour battery (not an official EPA rating) — almost twice as efficient as the Lucid Air Pure, the most efficient production car in the world, which gets 420 EPA-rated miles from an 84-kilowatt-hour battery in a much larger, more practical vehicle.

Volkswagen made several compromises for efficiency. The roofline tapers quickly into a Kammback shape — among the most aerodynamic a vehicle can take — bringing the drag coefficient down to 0.158 while keeping frontal area at just 2.08 square meters; as a result, the car is technically a 2+2, with a backseat Volkswagen says is designed for people shorter than 5-foot-3 (about 1.6 meters). “The prototype was designed so that it could theoretically be used by a young family of four,” Volkswagen said. The wheel arches also sit tight against the front tires, since wheels and tires contribute roughly a quarter to a third of aerodynamic drag — a change likely to hurt ride quality, since wheels typically need room to move for shocks to absorb bumps. Volkswagen kept traditional side mirrors rather than cameras, since mirrors offer better depth perception despite the added drag, and added solar cells on the roof and trunk lid that contribute up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) of range on perfectly flat, sunny routes driven at a constant 42.25 mph (68 kph). Inside, the seats use lightweight materials, and instead of a built-in infotainment system or speakers — an idea borrowed from EV startup Slate Auto’s bare-bones pickup — the Mission Efficiency offers a portable Bluetooth speaker and expects drivers to bring their own devices.

While Volkswagen frequently calls the Mission Efficiency “near production,” the company hasn’t committed to actual production. It has form on this front, though: more than a decade ago, it built 250 examples of the XL1, another efficiency-focused halo car, which started at €110,000 in 2013.

Why it matters

Volkswagen demonstrating nearly double the efficiency of today’s most efficient production EV — while acknowledging compromises like a cramped back seat and no infotainment system — shows how far automakers still have to push design trade-offs to meaningfully extend EV range without bigger batteries.