Top Gear America begins work on 70 mpg project car
Click above for high-res gallery of TopGear.com America's Project Sipster
Interested in a car that can get 70 miles per gallon and run from zero to sixty in under 7 seconds? Yeah, so are we. How much do you want to pay for it? Top Gear America thinks that $7K sounds just about right, and it wants Italian styling to boot. Impossible? Not so fast. The crew at TG, which is a separate entity from the British blokes that you see on the tube all the time, have set out on a project to create just such a beast. The bones of the project, known as Sipster for now, are based on a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit, which was in fact styled by Italian design house Giugiaro. In place of the original miserly yet underpowered diesel engine will go a fully modern oil-burning TDI from VW. After the powerplant is in place, UCLA aerodynamics professor John McNulty will take a crack at making the upright Rabbit a bit more slippery. Should be fun to keep tabs on.
Gallery: Top Gear America Project Sipster
[Source: TopGear.com America]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Luke 8:43PM (2/20/2009)
The aero mods will be the thing I'm most interested in. I hope they do some decent weight reduction too.
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Bill 4:18PM (2/21/2009)
Take a hard look at the AeroCivic and see how some cheap fairing mods can drastically increase mpg.
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MetroMPG.com 4:28PM (2/21/2009)
Top Gear, your cheat sheet is here: http://www.aerocivic.com
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usbseawolf2000 5:42PM (2/21/2009)
I want to see safety issue address. I hope they crash test it after confirming 70 MPG achievement.
70 MPG car that is unsafe wouldn't be realistic.
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Frankbank 10:06AM (2/22/2009)
Seawolf - exactly!
Tired story - i can finish the episode in my sleep - 70 mpg - imperial gallons, diesel fuel, no emisssions regs, and one FE measurment at constant speed, not on the regulated schedule, and not derated to label numbers. No crash, no AC and the awful buckboard ride and pinchy seats of a gen1 Rabbit. 7 seconds using half a clutch plate in the process.
But the moral and tone of the piece will be, "if we can do this wonderful 70 mpg, 7 second car for 7 grand, why can't a proper automaker do the same?, we are so great." And then wonder that US viewer just don't "get" Top Gear.
Rich 5:26PM (2/22/2009)
Wow. I'm always amazed by the negative comments on stories like this. I don't think that anybody (including the producers of the show) thinks that the major car manufacturers are going to release a car for 7K that gets 70 mpg and has all of the bells, whistles and car-crushing-power of an Escalade.
This show is trying to do something other than the average drivel that is on (Reality TV, celebrity news, etc).
To those who criticize efforts like this, what have you built? What have you accomplished? Do you want to live in a world where we keep on doing the same thing generation after generation even if it shoots us in the foot financially, environmentally and strategically? I am grateful to the people who have the foresight to tinker and build something that inspires efficiency and advancement.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the small minded nature of those who post knee jerk "what happens if it runs into an H2" and "it won't ride like a Cadillac". For every bright and motivated entrepreneur in this country, there are at least 20 beer swilling, open mouth breathing, closed minded thinkers that have produced little more than CO2 and excrement.
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Killroy 11:48PM (2/22/2009)
The 10 year old Honda Insight gets 70 MPG GAS!, not diesel, and the price was not that bad.
Bearclaws8 9:42AM (2/23/2009)
I know we're still waiting for TopGear America to get a home, and call me crazy, but I think it should be on PBS. All of the cable outlets will just spoil it with their sponsors influences. There are quite a few good shows on PBS (This Old House, NOVA) and a quality program like this could easily follow the original model (even w/o or limited commercials!). And it would be available to everyone, no need for cable or satelite and totally available in HD!
The downside? Well to keep it commercial free or limited commercials it would require the backers of TGA to help sponsor PBS (or so one would assume). But then again I'd be willing to donate to PBS to get such an amazing show on air. Call me crazy but I think this may be the best way to get TGA to everyone, HD, and limit the ammount sponsors control the content.
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