Tesla - Electric Sports Car - COOL!!!

[BlooInBloo]

http://www.teslamotors.com

It's probably been posted at some point in the past, but check out the torque curve on this honey!



Efficiency/performance:


And it's just good-lookin:


It looks a bit weak on range (200 miles), but that's about the only thing missing. Besides price of course. But keep in mind that it's dead-easy to pay a lot more than $100k for OLD inefficient technology.



EDIT: Forgot main link.

[AndyTiedye]

1. I Want One!

[Initech]

2. Don't they cost something like $100,000?

If I won the lottery, I'd totally go for one.

[BlooInBloo]

3. Yup, which explains the OP's closing comment.

EDIT: The point of the post wasn't to advocate that we all run out an buy one. Rather, the point was to show that car-buffs have something HEALTHY to drool over, which is just as yummy as the high-cholesterol versions.

[Greyhound]

5. The Porche is a half million, and the Lamborghini goes for $300K

and neither has much range. I doubt the Tesla is in the same handling class, but unless you're in a real race, who cares?

[BlooInBloo]

7. The suspension bits look fine. Smaller tires tho. Convertibles intrinsically less chassis rigidity.

EDIT: Don't see anything about the car's weight.

[Wiley50]

9. Wow! I Just Hit The Powerbal!!!

Thanks for reminding me to look!

All I hit was the Powerball Number
not any of the other ones

So it only paid $3

But, The PowerPlay Number was 5

So I ended up with

$3x$5=$15

Not enough for a Tesla just yet

BTW Has anyone taken delivery of one yet?

[krispos42]

4. We're reaching the point now where battery life is becoming...

compatable with a good daily driving car.

And electric motors are superior to gasoline. Much broader RPM range, fewer moving parts, etc.

In my Journal, I discussed the kind of car I think we will be building before we get around to making hydrogen cheap enough (*cough* nuclear fusion *cough*) to go with a H₂ tank and a fuel cell stack. Those lithium-ion batteries pack a lot of power into them. We just need to get more production capacity.

As an addendum to my Journal entry, I would like to note that cars like the one I described could have standardized, factory-original power plugs and a trailer hitch so that a person going on a long trip could rent a compact, 50-hp, 300 VDC-output gasoline/diesel/natural gas/E85 generator and tow it behind their car for long trips. The output of the trailer would feed directly into the car's motor to provide power for highway cruising, lights, A/C, stereo, etc. The car would only have to tap into it's own batteries for heavy acceleration or steep hills.

95% of people 95% of the time would be okay with using a home charger and maybe a little of the auxillary engine. The rest of the time, either rent a long-haul generator or rent a conventional car.

[BlooInBloo]

6. I'm fine with recharging, notionally. 200 miles seems a bit short to me tho.

[krispos42]

13. Most people on most days, it is more than enough.

The past two years I haven't driven any more than 200 miles in a given day.

Right now my job move up north a little, so I'm going round-trip 150 each day. But before that, I only went 45 a day. If I had to drop off my kid at his mom's house, add about 25 miles to that. 70 total.

It's the 'what if' factor that drives people away.

[locopolitico]

8. brilliant concept

Brilliant idea to make the Tesla a luxury item and to play up the "cool" factor. Hopefully it will spur competition and convince the big automakers that there is money to be made from environmental responsibility.

[BlooInBloo]

12. Technology trickles down. On CSpan I heard they're coming out with a $50,000 sedan.

[skids]

10. Oh that's so last season's

:-)

Now there's also this coming out:


http://www.pmlflightlink.com/news.html

and this:


http://www.motorauthority.com/news/crossovers/official-pics-of-zaps-644hp-all-electric-crossover/


...both I think using the same drive system from the first page.

[HeeBGBz]

11. Ooh, pretty! n/t

[ThomWV]

14. Hate to rain on your parade, but ....

The car would be a pure dog. The thing you aren't considering is the weight of those batteries. All the flat torque curve in the world don't mean squat when the car weighs three tons. It won't accelerate and it won't handle because of the weight and the weight comes from those batteries

[Dover]

15. Zap cars more affordable, lightweight, practical and......cool!

http://www.zapworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=4560

ZAP has announced with Lotus Engineering the development of the new ZAP-X Crossover, incorporating distinct technological advancements that will result in one of the most advanced electric cars ever developed.

ZAP and Lotus are utilizing the award-winning APX lightweight aluminum architecture design to achieve unprecedented levels of performance and utility for electric cars.

The drive system alone is enough to excite driving fanatics, featuring an innovative all-wheel drive option with revolutionary electric motors inside each of the wheels, potentially delivering 644 horsepower and speeds up to 155mph.

An advanced battery system will enable the car to travel a range up to 350 miles between charges, with a rapid charge technology that can recharge the batteries in as little as 10 minutes