2008 Tesla Roadster

August 4, 2008

The new Tesla Roadster is a car pushing the boundaries of what people expect from an electric powered car. This is a sports car that can do 0-60 mph in four seconds, but can do it while performing at over 100mpg! Tesla Motors estimate that this silent performance car will only cost 1 or 2 US cents per mile.

The Roadster is powered by 6,831 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. When connected to a special recharging outlet the car takes about three and half hours to fully charge. Once charged the car travel over 200 miles before you need to find another empty socket.

Quite obviously, this is no ordinary electric motor, the copper and steel rotor is spun by an electric field; besides the rotor there are no other moving parts in the engine. Built by Lotus and based on the Elise chassis, the Tesla has been built to demonstrate that eco-friendly driving need not mean average performance. Choose one of the two gears available, hit the accellerator and all you will hear as you sweep through the curves is the wind whipping over the curve of the bodywork.

The bad news is that the Roadster is only available in the US for now (European sales due to start late 2008), prices start at $98,000.

Tesla Motors (www.teslamotors.com) has some serious backing including the founder of Paypal, Elon Musk and the two founders of Google, Page and Brin. A sports sedan is currently in development.

Engine: Electric motor powered by lithium-ion battery
Power: 248bhp @ 8000rpm
Torque: 200 lb ft @ 0-6000rpm
Transmission: Two-speed manual
CO2: zero emissions
Acceleration: 0-60mph: 4sec
Top speed: 130mph

The TLL Team

2008 Tesla Roadster Links

"Driving the car takes some getting used to. But boy is it quick. It does 0-60mph in 4sec. Like a petrol car, you just put your foot down and go. The real trick with electricity is that it’s alive. You put it in a box and it either escapes or dies. The best way to use power is at the point of generation, which is what hybrids do but then you are back with the problem of having two powerplants and the extra weight. Electricity is the best way to run an automobile in the sense that there is no maintenance of any kind. - Jay Leno"

"With petrol prices still climbing and acceptable emissions levels falling, you can see how a range of silent cars that does the equivalent of 100mpg+ and makes no muck could catch on."

"Built by Lotus in England using components from around the world - the battery is from Thailand, the instrument panel from South Africa - and designed by a team of engineers holed up in Silicon Valley, the Tesla is a quiet and very fast riposte to the idea that all electric vehicles have to look like golf carts, move slowly and be recharged at every traffic light."

2008 Tesla Roadster

August 4, 2008

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