Volkswagen Unveils Near-Production Mission Efficiency EV With 0.158 Drag Coefficient

Volkswagen has unveiled a near-production electric vehicle prototype called Mission Efficiency. The car is fully driveable and draws heavily on existing production technology. It has a 2+2 seating layout and a drag coefficient of 0.158. According to figures published by Volkswagen, this drag coefficient sets an aerodynamic record for a road-legal vehicle. The car is built on the MEB+ platform and uses technology from forthcoming models including the next-generation ID. Polo.

The body has a teardrop shape and an elongated rear, with an overall length of nearly 4.8 metres and a height of less than 1.4 metres, tapering from front to rear. The vehicle features a fully enclosed underbody, flush door handles, frameless windows, and specially designed wheels and wheel arches. The rear wheel area uses a dedicated wheel-deflector design and wheel-cover solution. At the front there are three active cooling-air flaps that can open or close independently according to cooling demand; when all three are closed, almost no air enters the front section. The frontal area is just 2.08 square metres.

In testing under ideal conditions, the car travelled at a constant 68 km/h on a route without uphill sections and with auxiliary power consumers such as air conditioning switched off, recording energy consumption of 6.48 kWh/100 km. A subsequent long-distance test ran from Wolfsburg in Germany via Poznan in Poland and Olomouc in the Czech Republic to Vienna in Austria, a total of 1,278.36 km. Using a battery with a net capacity of 54.9 kWh, the car charged only once, with actual energy consumption of 6.89 kWh/100 km, or 7.51 kWh/100 km when charging losses are included. Average speed for the trip was 67.72 km/h and top speed was 138 km/h. On arrival in Vienna, the battery had about 164 km of remaining range; continuing on the remaining charge, the car could theoretically travel more than 1,400 km on a single charge.

The car uses a 99 kW front-mounted motor shared with the future ID. Polo, producing a maximum output of about 135 hp, along with battery technology related to the ID. At speeds above 80 km/h, the Mission Efficiency reduces energy consumption by more than 30% compared with the ID. At 140 km/h, the prototype's energy consumption is roughly equivalent to that of the ID. Polo travelling at 100 km/h. As speed rises, aerodynamic drag increases, and lowering drag can extend range and reduce charging needs with the same battery capacity.

The vehicle makes extensive use of aluminium, high-strength materials and carbon-fibre-reinforced materials, and its lighter body structure reduces the energy required to run. The interior does not have a traditional large central infotainment screen, following a bring-your-own-device approach in which some entertainment and information functions are handled by devices such as smartphones and tablets; mounts for smartphones and tablets and a portable Bluetooth speaker are provided. A solar panel integrated into the roof can power onboard electronics and provide up to about 30 km of additional range, mainly by reducing the drain on the traction battery from air conditioning, electronic devices and other auxiliary systems. The car has a 2+2 seating layout, with full everyday space in the front and a rear seat more suited to passengers up to about 1.6 metres tall, and a luggage compartment of 481 litres.

Around 2013, Volkswagen introduced the XL1, which had a teardrop-shaped body and enclosed rear wheels, was a plug-in hybrid aimed at extreme energy efficiency, and later entered small-scale production. The Mission Efficiency continues that idea in the electric era but along a different technical path: the XL1 used a special powertrain and body structure, while the Mission Efficiency is based on the existing MEB+ platform and technology from future production models. Volkswagen has not announced a formal production plan for the Mission Efficiency. The car remains a concept-style technology demonstrator, defined as a near-production vehicle, with much of its technology at a high level of engineering maturity.