Has anyone seen any of these in the UK? 96mpg ave and it has the world record for MPG of a production car of over 5000 units per annum of 125mpg!

It is left hand drive has a 1.2 3 cylinder tdi PD unit. very skinny tyres to aid economy, thin glass, thin seats, magnesium alloys, aerodynamic front & rear spoilers, automatic and yet it still does 0-60 in 12 seconds & 104mph flat out.

Really an ideal car for commuting.

I hear that as the engine is so small they have had to fit an electric heater for the cabin as it takes so long to warm up.

They cost E14,000 when new so Im assuming 6 years on you could pick one up for maybe

Sounds like a horrible thing to drive!

I hear that as the engine is so small they have had to fit an electric heater for the cabin as it takes so long to warm up.

Not so much to do with the engine displacement as that most diesels are generally more thermally efficient than petrol engines so can take a good while longer to heat up. So it's fairly commonplace on quite a few diesel cars...

Personally think you'd have more luck sourcing a smart ForTwo CDi than one of these!

Rob.

found this:

First Drive: Volkswagen Lupo 3L TDI

When I was out in Bulgeria earlier this year I saw my first ever one and it had TDI in green on the boot, appart from that (didnt see the front) it looked like any lupo.

It is such a shame they never released it to the UK - the prospect of driving from Reading to Cardiff 110miles for £4.50 in fuel is highly appealing and as it has a top speed of 104mph 70-85 all the way would be no trouble.

Welcome to Diesel Car online

Have a look at this website - it has many articles on diesel cars have a look for the 3lTDI Lupo it does look good.

It has a great write up about the VRS too.

yeah i've seen a 3L lupo before, there aren't many in the country tho... they also had magnesium wings, doors and bonnet to reduce the weight,

like already mentioned they have 1.2 version of the 1.4pd engine with a magnesium alloy engine block, also they have a tipronic automatic gearbox... but better still, if you drive along and you stop for more than 30 seconds, the engine automatically switches off to save fuel then restarts when you press the accelerator pedal.

i doubt very much you could even buy a good 1.0 litre bog standard 'poverty spec' lupo for 2k..... even if you are lucky enough to find one of the 420(i think) in the uk, you would part with about 7.5k

does the fabia have an electric pre-heater as well? the heating is ridiculously good compared to what I've had in the past. The polo TDI estate I had was rubbish and that had a similar ventilation system.

You can get a polo 3.7L TDI as well on either the 9n or 9n2 but I dont think it has seen uk roads.

The Fabia TDI doesn't have an electric pre-heater (in the UK at least) and is woefully slow at producing hot air :(

Chris

must just be mine that's good then. I guess the real test will be when winter sets in. I've been really impressed with it so far though.

I thought someone had built a 3.0l Lupo from the title!

Shame, was looking forward to some pics of one of them!

I thought someone had built a 3.0l Lupo from the title!

Shame, was looking forward to some pics of one of them!

what, you mean like this?? :eek:

i've been fiddling with 6n polo's and lupo's for years, and i've seen loads of mind blowing examples!

Yep, thats what I was expecting!

What do they go/handle like?

Bit nose heavy i'd imagine?

Yep, thats what I was expecting!

What do they go/handle like?

Bit nose heavy i'd imagine?

i've driven one, ages ago at a club lupo meet(but not the actuall one in the picture). in a straight line they are fast as **** which is what you would expect with a tin can with 180 odd horsepower, but they handle like a pig on roller skates, understeer prone, in fact they are crap!

it had trouble keeping up with my polo gti engined lupo which was on ITB's and pumping out similar numbers, not bad for a 1.6-16v eh?? , but mine had the massive advantage of not having a giant block of iron wedged in under the bonnet!

Hmm, so mid mounted twin turbo VR6 it is then!!

Hmm, so mid mounted twin turbo VR6 it is then!!

i think i'd rather see this

this is the same engine as mine had, but this ones been turbo'd

i think at the last test rothe motorsport were pumping out 220bhp from one of these

I saw a TDi 3L Lupo at Western VW Kinnaird Park , Edinburgh when I was up there in the summer , however it was LHD and on German plates (real ones , not Dubmeister's!). I think it would be a matter of doing a parralel personal import of a LHD car if you wanted one of these.

This was fun, 460 bhp.

There is a lot of Lupo 3L`s in Denmark, infact we have the biggest amount of 3L`s in the world.

I would advice to stay away from them. There is big problems with the gearboxes, they are apparently too advanced. Go for a normal 1.4 TDI instead, they are OK.

If you want, i can find more info about problems with the 3L?

Ok, i have searched a little and these are typical failures:

- Windscreen, Brittle, look for cracks.

- Turbo, leaking.

- The electronics in the gearboxes often fails.

- A switch in the hydraulic unit in the gearbox leaks oil.

- Crankshaft cracking.

- Wheelbearings fails within 60.000km.

- Engines prone to oil leaking.

Further to this, the service is more expensive than normal, and spare parts also costs more because of the exotic materials.

This info is taken from a danish organisation for motorists.

This was fun, 460 bhp.

is that venom motorsport's old show car??

Yeah, a friend bought it.

spare parts also costs more because of the exotic materials.

Would imagine this would push up the "cost to repair", hence it would also become surprisingly expensive to insure...?

I guess it's aimed at people with money who want to save the planet, rather than people who want to save money!

Rob.

Would imagine this would push up the "cost to repair", hence it would also become surprisingly expensive to insure...?

I guess it's aimed at people with money who want to save the planet, rather than people who want to save money!

Rob.

Agreed. I know the Lupo GTi can be pricey to repair due to the aluminium panels. Our old bodyshop was equipped to do A8/A2 repairs so also did the Lupo and the labour rate and materials were extortionate.

i think when the 3L lupo was devised it was probably a 'show-off' displaying what can be done if they try, after all the mpg fiqures that those things can return is amazing. so maybe it was more of a marketing gimmick than a user friendly car..