Borrowing From the Production Line, Not a Lab What distinguishes the Mission Efficiency from most efficiency-record prototypes is where its components come from.
Rather than build a bespoke, low-volume powertrain purely for the sake of a record run, Volkswagen pulled its motor and battery straight from the production ID.
Volkswagen’s engineers have said that wheels alone can account for roughly a quarter to nearly a third of a vehicle’s total aerodynamic drag, which is why the Mission Efficiency devotes unusual attention to them.
Built to Look Usable, Not Just Slippery Unlike many hypermiling concept cars, which tend to sacrifice everything to the wind tunnel, the Mission Efficiency was designed with at least a passing nod toward daily practicality.
The prototype has already received European road approval and meets standard crash and safety requirements, a detail Volkswagen has emphasized to distinguish the Mission Efficiency from a pure styling exercise.