German Car Forum

The upcoming Tesla Roadster looks pretty damn cool. It's based on an Elise chassis and uses many Lotus components.

It will use lithium-ion batteries, allowing for roughly 400km per charge, which is remarkable for an electric vehicle. A specially-developed motor produces 250hp (roughly 190kw) at 13,500rpm, and masses of torque from zero rpm. This results in a 0-60 time of 4 seconds flat. Top speed will be around 210km/h.

The best part, of course, is not paying for gas - The emissions will vary from location to location, based on where your power comes from, but even if it comes from gas or coal power plants it is above and beyond the efficiency of a standard car, let alone one in its performance range.

http://www.teslamotors.com/

*Nikola Tesla was Croatian/Serbian scientist, one of the smartest people of his time, he was called 'the man ahead of his time'!

Looks quite good and reminds me of the Honda S2000.

Should be intersting to hear more about this car.

This is very interesting. Does it come to the US? Never heard of this company.

Yes, it does! Check their web-site! They are new company, this is their 1st car, that's why they're not famous! The car looks pretty nice, it's built on the Lotus Elise base and powered by electricity!

Interesting car. I'm glad people are developing this technology further. I hope they find a way to do something about old batteries, too.

Anyhow, it's encouraging to see that, even with electric cars, people will find ways to push the performance envelope. I'm almost resigned to electric power being the way of the future, but it doesn't mean I have to drive a vacuum cleaner.

On another note, will this be a pointer to what Lotus' possible Esprit replacement could look like? Because it's not bad, though a bit Ferrari 550-ish in the front. Also, Toyota had a concept car named the Tesla, I believe.

Isn't it a bit of an oxymoron to buy an non-versatile 100k+ electricity powered car in belief of saving money from using electricity instead of petrol?

This car is really interesting... They have Lotus as a development partner and you can see some similarities in the car.






Engine
Type: 3-Phase, 4-Pole Electric Motor
Displacement cu in (cc): n.a.
Power bhp (kW) at RPM: 248(185) / n.a.
Torque lb-ft (Nm) at RPM: n.a.
Redline at RPM: 13500

Brakes & Tires
Brakes F/R: ABS, vented disc/vented disc
Tires F-R: 175/55 R16 - 225/45 R17
Driveline: Rear Wheel Drive

Exterior Dimensions & Weight
Length × Width × Height in: 155.4 × 73.7 × 44.4
Weight lb (kg): 2500 (1135)

Performance
Acceleration 0-60 mph s: ~ 4.0
Top Speed mph (km/h): 130 (210)
Fuel Economy EPA combined mpg: 135

Silicon Valley's Sleek, Clean and Fast Performance Electric Vehicle

The first performance electric car manufactured by Tesla Motors, the high-performance, zero-emissions Tesla Roadster, was unveiled in 2006 before a throng of well-wishers, car buffs, and potential customers during Tesla Motors's "Signature One Hundred" event at Barker Hangar.

More than 350 invited guests spent the evening learning about the new sports car, speaking with Tesla Motors executives, and going for rides along the tarmac at the Santa Monica Airport. Many signed up to be among the first to receive a special edition Tesla Roadster, becoming Signature One Hundred Members.

Celebrities in attendance included actor Ed Begley Jr., producer Richard Donner, businessman Michael Eisner, PayPal co-founder (and Tesla Motors Chairman) Elon Musk, Participant Productions' Founder and CEO Jeff Skoll, also of eBay fame, and producer and car collector Joel Silver. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by prior to the evening's activities to learn more about Tesla Motors and took a ride in the Tesla Roadster.

"We're thrilled to have the support of top people from so many different industries," said Martin Eberhard, CEO of Tesla Motors. "High-tech, CleanTech, entertainment, automotive, you name it. It's gratifying to have others realize the significance or what Tesla Motors is doing."

The electric-powered Tesla Roadster boasts the equivalent of 135 mpg and a range of 250 miles on a single charge, a combination heretofore unseen in a mass-produced electric vehicle. Its extended range is due to its state-of-the-art lithium-ion Energy Storage System. The Tesla Roadster is capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph in about four seconds.

"The Tesla Roadster delivers sports car performance without using any gasoline," said Eberhard. "This is what we hoped to achieve when we started the company three years ago, to build a car with zero emissions that people would love to drive."

Using a unique two-speed electrically actuated manual transmission, the Tesla Roadster's power comes from a 3-phase, 4-pole AC induction motor. The motor is controlled by the Power Electronics Module (PEM) which also controls the inverting direct current to 3-phase alternating current, charging and braking systems.

The Roadster's Energy Storage System (ESS) provides power to the entire vehicle, including the motor. Its durable, tamper-resistant enclosure includes: 6,831 lithium-ion cells, a network of microprocessors for maintaining charge balance and battery temperature, a cooling system, and an independent safety system designed to disconnect power outside the enclosure under a variety of detectable safety situations.

The Tesla Roadster comes complete with its Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE), a home-based charging system, which features an automatic safety disconnect system and can charge the Tesla Roadster in approximately 3.5 hours. An optional mobile charging kit is also available.

The body design of the Tesla Roadster, which included a collaborative effort by the company's employees, was led by Barney Hatt, Principal Designer at the Lotus Design Studio in England. The result is a sleek, stylish sports car that will appeal to enthusiasts and environmentalists the world over.

Research and Development for Tesla Motors is located at the corporate headquarters in San Carlos, California and in the UK. Motors are manufactured at Tesla's facility in Taiwan, and final assembly for the Tesla Roadster is in the UK.

Deliveries of the Tesla Roadster are expected to begin in 2007.

Tesla Roadster deliveries starting by November

Those car buyers fortunate enough to put a deposit down on the first batch of Tesla electric roadsters should be able to get behind the wheel by November at the latest. The cars, which cost upwards of $100,000, are being assembled by Lotus Engineering in England and will be sold solely in the US initially. The news comes from Tesla CEO and co-founder Martin Eberhard, who also told Reuters that the original release date was set for this summer.
The cause of the delay was a late change of the supplier for the transmission. Still, the long wait hasn’t stopped more than 570 customers placing deposits for a car they haven’t tested. Production isn’t fully accounted for yet, however. Tesla will be opening two showrooms in LA and Northern California and plans to open more around the US soon to attract even more customers.
Following the launch of the Roadster, Tesla will then look towards building its new ‘White Star’ sedan model. When ready, the new sedan is expected to cost roughly half what the Roadster currently costs and will be manufactured at a plant in New Mexico.

Updated: Full steam ahead at Tesla

Tesla has announced that its upcoming Roadster recorded 255 miles on a single charge in a recent EPA City test cycle. It hit 235m on the highway portion of the test, giving it an EPA combined rating of 245m.
Despite several setbacks earlier in the year, including the resignation of its founder and CEO Martin Eberhard back in August, development of the Tesla Roadster is still on track and production is set to ramp up at the start of next year. Tesla has announced that it will build 50 vehicles in the first quarter of next year and another 600 units for the remainder of the year.

Engineers are currently working on durability and validation testing for its final prototypes and have driven one car over 245 miles on a single charge for the combined EPA cycle. Other aspects engineers are focusing on include the brakes and suspension settings, cooling for the electric motor, the two-speed electrically-actuated-manual-shift transmission and a new battery system.
The expected driving range for the new roadster has been downgraded to around 200 miles from the originally claimed 250 miles. However, engineers are working diligently to reach the original target and appear to have been successful as initial testing has shown. Top speed for the car has been tested at 130mph and acceleration times for the 0-60mph is claimed to be less than four seconds.

the name alone makes me hate this car..
im sorry i dont know why

If you plunked down six figures and expected to be motoring around in your emissions-free Tesla Roadster by now, chances are there might be a few ants in your pants. The all-EV Tesla Roadster has hit a few speed bumps on its road to production, and in order to address these concerns, the fledgling automaker held a town hall meeting in San Carlos yesterday that was available to anyone who made a deposit for a car via conference call.

The skinny is that Tesla is having a difficult time developing a transmission strong enough to "survive the process of shifting gears while the motor remains at full torque", according to our own Sam Abuelsamid who has been following the Roadster's development from Day 1 and has actually rode shotgun in it. Two suppliers are currently working simultaneously to find a solution. Meanwhile, the company has gone ahead and built the first production model at the Lotus factory in Hethel, England. The first car belongs to Elon Musk, Chairman of the company and one of its initial investors. His car is fitted, however, with a transmission that he knows will fail in a few thousand miles.

Tesla also revealed that it is considering shipping some preordered Roadsters to customers early with similar transmissions that will be temporary and later replaced with the stronger transmission once it's developed. For those really eager to own a Tesla Roadster, this might be an option, but would you want to drive around a car with a gearbox that was guaranteed to fail after a few thousand miles?

Also of note is that the Tesla Roadster's range estimate has fallen a bit again from a previously reported range of 245 miles to something in the 220- to 230-mile range. Still impressive, but let's hope it doesn't fall any further.


Source: Tesla: Roadster production unit #1 completed; future models may use range extender - AutoblogGreen

Nah, it doesn't look anything like an S2k. But honestly, I'd take the S2K over this junk any day. Over 100K for this? You'd have to be really rich, really smug, really "environmentalist" and really dumb to pay that much for this car. Just my 2cents.

My father wants to import one to Norway from the US.. I havn't decided if I like it or not.. you can get a TT for almost the same price !

Tesla solves gearbox problem with new one-speed unit

The Tesla Roadster is shaping up to be one of the most exciting vehicles of the year but first the car has to be completed and delivered to showrooms. It appears that day is almost upon us as the electric car company has announced that all regulatory approvals to import the first production models for sale have been met and the factory is ready to start cranking them out.

The roadster’s gestation has been a turbulent one. Not only did the engineering team suffer some major technical problems, forcing the original
specification to be changed, but the company also underwent a major management reshuffle as well. According to Tesla, to overcome the previous technical problems, the first batch of cars, dubbed ‘P1,’ will come with an interim two-speed transmission that meets durability requirements but limits acceleration to a disappointing 5.7 seconds for the 0-60mph sprint.
Future models will come with a new one-speed gearbox mated to a more powerful drivetrain than the power unit in the P1 cars. The existing motor will be modified to have advanced cooling capabilities to handle the additional power and the permanent transmission unit will be engineered to handle the higher torque of the powertrain. This second version will meet the original promise of 0-60mph acceleration in four seconds.
The first P1 car will be delivered to the Chairman of Tesla Motors Elon Musk next week before heading into full production on March 17. The upgrade from the interim solution to the higher power, permanent solution will be provided to customers free of charge when available later this year.










http://www.motorauthority.com/news/roadsters/tesla-solves-gearbox-problem-with-new-one-speed-unit/

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