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"You see any cops?" Eberhard asks, shooting me a mischievous look. The car is vibrating, ready to launch. I'm the first journalist to get a ride.
He releases the brake and my head snaps back. One-one-thousand: I get a floating feeling, like going over the falls in a roller coaster. Two-one-thousand: The world tunnels, the trees blur. Three-one-thousand: We hit 60 miles per hour. Eberhard brakes. We're at a standstill again -- elapsed time, nine seconds. When potential buyers get a look at the vehicle this summer, it will be among the quickest production cars in the world. And, compared to other supercars like the Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari Enzo, and Lamborghini Diablo, it's a bargain. More intriguing: It has no combustion engine.
The trick? The Tesla Roadster is powered by 6,831 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries -- the same cells that run a laptop computer. Range: 250 miles. Fuel efficiency: 1 to 2 cents per mile. Top speed: more than 130 mph. The first cars will be built at a factory in England and are slated to hit the market next summer. And Tesla Motors, Eberhard's company, is already gearing up for a four-door battery-powered sedan.
What Eberhard didn't know about car manufacturing -- which was just about everything -- he got by hiring engineers and executives away from Lotus. Eventually, he lured so many Lotus employees that the British company insisted he sign a no-poaching agreement or it wouldn't build the car.
Eberhard suggests it would be easy enough to pump MP3s of prerecorded engine roar into the car's Blaupunkt stereo. And for those with even older tastes, the sound of horse hooves could be substituted. But damn if that horse isn't going to sound strange at 13,500 rpm.
Originally posted by Spiderj
And in my opinion so is his answer about the car being completely silent:
Eberhard suggests it would be easy enough to pump MP3s of prerecorded engine roar into the car's Blaupunkt stereo. And for those with even older tastes, the sound of horse hooves could be substituted. But damn if that horse isn't going to sound strange at 13,500 rpm.
Or better yet, that new spray-on solar cell thingie.. Spray it directly on the car!!!
Originally posted by DragonsDemesne
I, too, also like the name; hopefully, it will bring awareness of Tesla more into the mainstream, as right now only science buffs really know who he was, and he is critically important to history and our technological society today.
Originally posted by obsidian468
Heh, I clicked on this thread thinking that someone had developed a car using Tesla tech. Instead, I find it's just some new electric car manufacturer stealing the name of a brilliant Electrical Engineer.
Originally posted by DragonsDemesne
Too bad the price tag is still a little hefty.
Originally posted by sardion2000
It is? It's a common fix for electric cars I believe and it's also an Aftermarket Add-on for Hybrids to get rid of the whine(or at least muffle it) as some people find it really annoying. Not me, I find it kind of soothing but I'm just weird.
[edit on 20-7-2006 by sardion2000]
This is a nice ride. If it does 0-60 under 4 seconds that would put it against the Corvette Z06, Viper, and the 911, and most likely run 11s in the quarter. $80K isn't bad for this type of performance since the Z06 is the only car with a price tag in that range. Yes the Z06 has a higher top speed, but most driving is done around 55 mph and adding 1 or 2 more gears to make the top speed higher would make this car even more impressive.
I have to wonder if this trend will continue or if larger existing corporations, like GM or Ford, will start with the buyouts.
I presented this article on an automotive forum... I was met with childish bickering about its top speed. Unbelievable.
One solution for solar charging would be to have more than one set of batteries. While you are out driving, you could have another set of batteries charging by solar. You bring your car home and you wouldn't have to wait very much because you have another set or two waiting and charged.
well, the buyout method is prominent in the Internet circles as well. eBay took PayPal... Adobe recently took Macromedia. Im not certain but I think it could be called diagonal expansion. Not quite vertical, but close.
sardion
GM is not in the electric car business and probably never will be(at least not until it's too late that is.)