The VW Lamado 5XL is the widest sedan ever made

The Volkswagen Lamando L failed to impress the Chinese people. That’s why a chinese car enthusiast decided to make the 5XL, the widest custom-built 10-seater car.

What’s the Volkswagen Lamando?

The standard Volkswagen Lamando is a Jetta-based model. It is exclusively sold in China and the Philippines, and it is manufactured by SAIC Volkswagen (joint venture) in China.

With the introduction of Lamando L, Volkswagen promised Chinese people a better car that would be longer, wider, and roomier than the standard version. Most cars sold in China are L variants, because Chinese people love long wheelbases, so, it made sense from a marketing perspective to produce a longer version.

Volkswagen Lamando L red color — *Volkswagen Lamando L.*

What’s the Volkswagen Lamando 5XL?

Although the VW Lamando L was supposed to be more spacious than its standard counterpart, it failed to impress. That’s when @justinbuildcars, a famous Chinese TikToker and car enthusiast felt that it was his civic duty to deliver what was promised to his people.

@justinbuildcars posing in front of the VW Lamando 5XL. — *@justinbuildcars in front of the VW Lamando 5XL.*

His team redid the car into the Lamando 5XL: a 3-meter (10 ft) wide and 4,78-meter (15.9 ft) long car. It is powered by the same 1.4 L TSI petrol engine found in the Lamando L, and it is’s also paired with a DSG-7 automatic gearbox.

Volkswagen Lamando 5XL vs Volkswagen Passat comparison — *VW Lamando 5XL next to a VW Passat.*

How was it made?

You would think they just combined two cars to produce that wide body, right? Instead, they just cut a Lamando in half, and filled the rest of the space with custom-welded metal. Some other reinforcing elements were fitted as well with the purpose of keeping the car from falling to pieces.

For its windshield, it uses acrylic instead of tempered or laminated glass. The roof and the rear hatch use the same material, as it was deemed that custom-made glass would simply be too expensive. The acrylic, however, increases the weight of the hatch tremendously, and it needs three people to fully lift it. Once lifted, it must be secured with a locking suspension rod to keep yourself safe from injuries. Imagine being crushed by that weight while you unload your groceries in the trunk. Yikes!

*YouTuber wheelsboy standing inside the enormous engine bay.*

On the interior, things have taken a turn as well. Extra seats have been fitted on both the front and back, which brings the maximum number of passengers to 10. Now that’s more like it!

Moving on to the dashboard, the layout is the same as in the standard car. However, that enormous space in front of the passengers’ seats had to be filled as well, and what’s better than doing that by fitting two ultra-wide monitors paired with a computer mouse? That will guarantee that the passengers remain entertained throughout the trip.

Volkswagen Lamando 5XL interior dashboard — *VW Lamando 5XL interior.*

Can I take it for a spin?

As sturdy as it may seem, the Lamando 5XL must not exceed 30 km/h of speed. Let’s also not forget that all the welding works were done in a private garage, hence, the car is not up to the manufacturer’s recommended standards. Needless to say, it’s illegal to drive it around, and it would be impossible to do so, either way.

On top of that, once the ignition key is turned, the cockpit goes haywire. You’ll have all sorts of errors popping up on the screen, due to the multiple sensors being disconnected from the main computer. There are also connection faults linked to the car’s wiring, which poses a major safety issue and cannot be driven on the road.

If you liked this article, please, share it with your friends.

Subscribe & follow us for more.