Cross the Tesla Roadster Off Your Bucket List
Alright gear-heads, the day has come! No longer do you need a double-digit cylinder count and premium fuel to achieve warp-speed acceleration. In fact, you don’t need gas at all… Yes, we’re talking about Tesla. Named after Nikola Tesla, a Serbian physicist who helped birth commercial electricity and alternating current, the brand’s founding fathers seemingly bit off more than they could chew, having to produce an electric vehicle that was essentially better than current offerings (Toyota Prius) in every way. Sure the Prius was the first mainstream electric vehicle in the U.S., but is it really that hard to make a vehicle just as efficient that out-excites one with a 10 second 0-60 time? Elon Musk didn’t think so and so the development of the Tesla Roadster, the flagship representation of the brand, began.
Squaring off against 150 years and trillions in gasoline motor research, the Tesla Roadster would offer exceptional features and technology in order to produce supercar performance, class-leading efficiency, and feasability of use. More importantly, this was not to be a car that dwelled only on test tracks and showroom floors, but rather a car that actually took you places, burning plenty of rubber on the way. By 2008 the brand was garnering significant attention in the auto world and in our neck of woods, seeing as how headquarters are nearby in Palo Alto. While our Lamborghinis and Ferraris are by no means unsatisfactory (ha!), there seemed to be a void in our paddock, so what to do? What else but to go next door and scoop up one of these electric, gravity bending hotrods.
Clad in a fiery red overcoat, our new 2011 Tesla Roadster made itself at home in our collection right away. With a 3.7 second 0-60 and world-renowned technology and dynamics, how could it not? Okay okay, it’s not really all about track figures. This car is the first production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production EV with a range greater than 200 miles (320 km) per charge. Also, according to Tesla Motor’s environmental analysis, it’s twice as energy efficient as the Toyota Prius; take that Prius junkies. The 3-phase elecrtic motor is designed for rotational speeds of up to 14,000 rpm, and delivers a typical efficiency of 88% or 90%; 80% at peak power. This results in 288 horsepower and 273 ft. lb. of torque. By the way, the motor weighs less than 70 pounds. What this ultimately means is pure, clean, linear thrust…and lots of it. When you floor the gas in a gasoline supercar like, say, our 458 Italia, throttle response takes time, even if that time is miniscule. In the Roadster, though, tip-in is absolutely instantaneous, making for a truly unique experience. You’re not “flooring the gas” anymore in this one, you’re “flooring the wattage.” The thrust that this car produces is intoxicating and is something that should undoubtedly be on every driver’s bucket list.
It’s styling and dynamics are similar to that of our Lotus Elise; small, sexy, light and aggressive. And while body panels are manufactured under the eye of Lotus, the Tesla Roadster has a parts overlap of less than 6 percent with the Elise. Moreover, with lightweight construction, exceptional handling and tight steering (don’t expect power steering in this one), the car is eager to carve up the California coast. In essence, this is more spacecraft than sports car but still maintains an intimate automotive experience that auto enthusiasts expect. Electric naysayers say what you will, but hop in this car for just a few minutes and you just might see the gasoline get sucked right out of your veins.
