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Tesla Roadster
The Tesla Roadster is getting people electrified.
While still in limited production, the buzz is heavy and the anticipation
is looming. Imagine a sports convertible running on pure electricity,
accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in about 4 seconds, and allowing up
to 200 miles for one charging - excited yet?
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Originally unveiled in July of 2006, a little over 400
units of the Tesla Roadster have already been reserved.
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The first 100 units of the Tesla Roadster are scheduled for delivery
in October 2007, with customers including several prominent celebrity
and business figures.
Classified as a "green car," the Tesla Roadster is the
first electric-powered vehicle to achieve the levels of performance
and style it has prominently displayed. Considering that the Tesla
Roadster retails at a price of $98,000, it's awfully hard to take
it seriously as an environmental solution for the masses. Nevertheless,
the technology involved in the Tesla Roadster might pave the way
for future generations of environmentally-sound and aesthetically
brilliant vehicles that most people can afford.
Features
The Tesla Roadster runs on a 3-phase, 4-pole electric motor that
weighs a mere 70 lbs. It produces a usable power of 248 bhp at 13500
rpm. Running on a two-speed sequential-manual transmission, it garners
top speed at 130 mph.
According to Tesla, the motor performs at an efficiency of between
85 to 95 percent, enabling you to maximize as much of the electric
energy stored in your batteries as possible. Some tests indicate
the efficiency to be at 80-percent during top speed, however. The
transmission is designed to combine the flexibility of manual transmission
and the ease of an automatic with two forward gears and no clutch
pedal to worry about.
The Roadster's chassis is made from extruded bonded aluminum, the
same material often found in many Formula One race cars. The entire
drive line consists of 12 moving parts, as opposed to the thousands
of mechanisms in regular gasoline vehicles.
Much of the other running systems such as motor torque, charging,
and regenerative braking in the Tesla Roadster are software-controlled
via the Power Electronic Module right under the trunk. Various driving
data, such as temperatures and voltages are processed by the module
as well, and creates corresponding adjustments in the ride performance.
Power for the Tesla Roadster is supplied by 6831 lithium-ion battery
cells arranged across 11 sheets and weighing a bulky 995 lbs. Ten
of the sheets provide traction power and the last one gives accessory
power.
The Tesla Roadster fills up a complete charge in three and a half
hours and is the batteries are expected to last up to 100,000 miles
before replacements are needed. Replacement batteries cost upwards
of several thousand dollars.
The car tips the scales at 2,600 pounds and seats two people.
Performance
In 2006, Forbes declared the Tesla Roadster the most prominent
"new car that best lived up to the hype."
Press releases from Tesla Motors claim that the Roadster produces
a tenth of the pollution and performs six times more efficiently
as the best sports cars in the world. Estimates are that the Tesla
Roadster achieves an enviable 135 mpg equivalent to gasoline-powered
cars. The Roadster offers maximum torque from the time it starts
all through 6000 rpm, ensuring availability of peak performance
at all times.
Early reviews of test units have been positive. The cabin of the
Tesla Roadster is a bit narrow for two people, but sight lines for
both the front and rear are more than acceptable. The Tesla Roadster
drives like a sports car packing strong acceleration and a powerful
thrust, lacking the noise and with no hesitation whatsoever.
The Car Of The Future
At its current price tag, the Tesla Roadster is not the car of
the future for the masses. But, if Tesla makes good on its plans
of eventually going into mass-producing lower-end electric cars
along the same lines, they just might end up the next big auto manufacturer
of the next generation. In addition, as the price of advanced lithium-ion
batteries comes down especially lithium-ion phosphate (LiFePO4)
batteries, so will the cost of the vehicles.
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