While Tesla has styled itself as the company that will make electric vehicles (EVs) affordable to the average consumer, it certainly hasn’t neglected the premium side of things. 2008’s Tesla Roadster was the company’s first high-performance sports car, completely powered by lithium ion batteries, and the success of that model has lead to a new version for 2020.
The details just released by Tesla indicate this new vehicle is about to tear up the EV expectations playbook, promising performance that will have mechanics and auto professionals in general doing a double take.
1. The Roadster Might Be Able to Fly Short Hops
Tesla is well known for being headed by one of the most famous business figures in the world: billionaire Elon Musk. Musk made the claim on November 19th that the upgraded ‘Founders Series’ version of the new Roadster may be fast enough to be able to “fly short hops.”
This claim was quickly qualified with a “maybe”, before Musk mused on how “rocket tech applied to a car opens up revolutionary possibilities”—a nice plug for his other business, Space X. The qualifiers that Musk added to this claim give the company plenty of wiggle room if it turns out not to exist at all, but the fact that a carmaker could even be playing with the idea of short-range flying capabilities is enough to have those who are planning to become a mechanic sitting upright.
2. Students in Mechanic Courses Know Its 0-100 km/h Time Is Impressive
It’s a crucial benchmark statistic that all sports cars are subject to: How fast can it get from standing still to tearing down the road? Musk has stated that the new Roadster will “deliver a smackdown to gasoline cars”, and will boast a 0-100 km/h time of just 1.9 seconds.
This kind of rapid acceleration is usually delivered by specialized racing cars using a combination of massive horsepower, all-wheel drive, reduced weight, and, of course, excellent tires. The Roadster’s trump card to achieve this is its combination of four powerful electric motors that will exactly calibrate themselves to the needs of each wheel. In addition, the car’s newly enlarged battery pack (with a capacity of 200 kWh) will be able to quickly pump out enough juice to get to top speeds in record time.
3. Grads of Mechanic Courses Know This Could Be “The Quickest Car in the World”
When you’re laying down $255,000 CAD for a basic model, and $320,000 CAD for the premium, you are going to want some pretty stellar speed capabilities. Tesla hasn’t settled on an absolute top speed that the Roadster can hit, but currently lists the top rate as over 400 km/h.
By comparison, those who have completed mechanic courses will likely know the top speed offered by contemporary premium gas-powered sports cars, like the Ferrari 488 GTB, is roughly just over 321 km/h. Clearly, this battery powered demon looks ready to chew up the competition. Musk has even stated that “driving a gasoline sports car is going to feel like a steam engine…” by comparison.
4. It Offers a Range of Just Under 1,000 km—600 km More Than the Last Tesla Roadster
When it comes to EVs, a key factor to consider has always been the range the vehicle can achieve before the battery needs to be charged again. At the moment, the best performer is Tesla’s Model S 100D with a 539 km range. Not far behind it sits the far more affordable Chevy Bolt, coming in with a range of 379 km.
The new Roadster will dwarf all that, offering a range of 997 km. Again, this is facilitated by its huge 200 kWh battery pack. Of course, increased range isn’t all there is to consider. With Tesla delivering a bigger battery and a stronger car, mechanics will be keen to see if it can also charge faster.
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