Every time I see a concept car, I wonder why, many years later, I have still not seen anything like it on a road.

Every time I see a hybrid car, I wonder why, many years later, they are still on the road.

Thankfully, VW seems to have a psychic link to some of these concerns. For last week at a glitzy show in the motoring hotspot of Qatar, the company unveiled the Formula XL1.

If you look at this fine, silver object of grace, it is as if John DeLorean was gazing on the world from heaven and channeling his thoughts for a happier and healthier motoring future.

The Formula XL1 supposedly gets 260 miles to every expensive gallon. It enjoys a 47 horsepower, 800cc two-cylinder turbo-diesel engine with a 27 hp electric motor and a body that does slightly remind me of a Citroen from the early 1980s (but in a good way).

But perhaps the loveliest thing about this two-seater is that you might actually be able to buy one. Well, perhaps not you. But, you know, Peter Thiel or Mark Zuckerberg.

There will, according to autobloggreen.com, be 100 of these things for sale. To real people. Well, semireal.

No one seems to know how much they might cost, nor, indeed, what criteria might be used to select the fortunate few who will be able to attract stares while still being blessedly green. The rumor is, though, that the first few will be offered to those living in Germany.

One can only hope that there will be such a groundswell of desperate enthusiasm, coupled with an outpouring of desire on Twitter, that VW will suddenly decide to mass produce these cars in order to make us all feel better about sitting in traffic.