2014 Volkswagen XL Sport Concept Is A Right Animal

FOUR WHEELS good; two wheels bad: in the Animal Farm of vehicle design, little stirs my interest less than motorbikes. I would rather pore over a Daewoo Matiz than survey a Harley. Maybe it’s a volume thing. I like shapes and curves, not bent pipes. It’s a pity really, because in absolute terms, nothing gets closer to perfect transport than a bike. I am afraid it really is a matter of aesthetics, and though I realize I am the loser in this argument, even this fails to shift my perception. 

My experience of bikes can be counted on one hand: one extraordinary journey on the back of a Royal Enfield, traveling though Rajasthan, and a trip through Tokyo on a Yamaha R1, memorable if only for the pain of trying to hang on. I'll be honest, the journey in India was incredible, but that was as much the astonishing environment and companions, as it was the bike. Put me on a donkey and I would still cherish the memory.

Still, that hasn't stopped less prejudiced types from marrying cars and bikes. Caterham has tried it a few times using Honda engines, starting in 2000 with the Blackbird. But it seems like transplanting the heart of a pig with one from a sparrow. Technically, it may be possible, but it doesn't quite fit the animal, no matter how much flapping it does.

But the surgeons in Wolfsburg may have at last found the right donor for the right patient: a Ducati twin for a carbon tub known as the XL1. My intrigue deepened with reading a brisk-but-not-spectacular 5.7s time from 0-60mph. This number has a bit of resonance with me. It is the time achieved by Fast Lane magazine in testing the R129 500SL 25 years ago. That was a 5-litre quad-cam V8. Ten years ago, the BMW Z4 did the same with 60% of the Merc's capacity. Today, it is what a diesel BMW 3-series can manage. If the engine of the future needs to prove itself, then 5.7 is the number to do it with.

The main difference between the Caterham and the VW is that while the Caterham is minimalist, the VW reductionist. The Brit leaves all the essentials in the pit-lane; the German takes a little bit of everything. It is the more complete car, so it feels more of the achievement that it can still produce excellent performance. A part of me loves the fact that they haven't gone over-board on power, too. 200PS already makes it the most powerful twin-engined car on the track, so 5.7s mean so much more. 

I suppose the one area where the concept starts to stall is its brand positioning. Didn't Audi technically buy Ducati? So why are we seeing the same badge on the XL as on a camper? Sporty, advanced genes surely befit four rings. One can only imagine that politics played a part. Volkswagen is the brand closer to the heart of chairman Ferdinand Piech, who commissioned the original 1-litre car that finally became the XL1. Though logic dictates Audi, those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything.