Posted on 10/03/2011 7:27:21 AM PDT by thackney
Electric carmaker Tesla got gearheads buzzing this weekend with its announcement of a tweak to its Model S luxury sedan to give it super speed. The souped up version will go 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds and get about 320 miles per charge.
Green Car Reports has more on the specs:
The sportier version features the same 85 kilowatt-hour, 300 miles-per-charge battery pack found in the 2012 Model S Signature series.
“That’s quicker than a [Porsche] 911 [Carrera],” joked [Tesla CEO Elon] Musk. “Not bad for an electric luxury sedan.”
In fact, it’s better than some of the gas-powered cars in its class, including a few that Tesla fans say look remarkably similar to the Model S:
•Supercharged Jaguar XF: 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds
•Maserati Quattroporte 0-60 mph in 5.3 seconds
•Aston Martin Rapide 0-60 mph in 5.0 seconds
•Volvo S60: 0-60 mph in 6.8 seconds
Want more? Check out this clip of Model S test cars on the track:
Its about the only advantage they have over ICE automobiles.
http://www.teslamotors.com/models
Reservations
* The reservation payment is 100% refundable.
* Reservation payments vary by country: $5,000USD / $5,000CAD. The reservation payment for Model S Signature is $40,000USD/$40,000CAD.
Pricing
* At the base price of $49,900 (after US Federal Tax Credit), Model S comes equipped with the 160-mile range battery pack.
* The 230-mile range option is priced at about $10,000 more than the base and the 300-mile option at about $20,000 more than the base.
so.. how does it do with the AC on, lights and stereo going?
Not sure of the need to go 0-60 in 4.5 seconds in a sedan.
Another Obama Green Car with loans from the government that will default.
“Electric cars have unlimited torque.”
Don’t know about unlimited, but torque is the name of the game. What electrics really have is very high rpms. A gasoline motor with a rotating mass big enough to generate significant torque, generally can’t rotate much beyond 6k. A super motor will go 8k.
I’m open to electrics, but that 320 miles on a charge would be a problem for a road trip!
The US Gov’t has no business being involved in this. This is a case where Obama as no idea what capitolism is, or how it works. The US Gov’t is supposed to be the “Umpire”; to ensure that all parties are playing fairly.
When we have the Umpire (Uncle Sam) playing on a particular side (Chevy Volt, for example) we wind up with a case where Telsa is forced to compete in a commercial venture, against the American taxpayer sponsored ‘champion’.
This results in an inferior vehicle (Chevy Volt) being financed by the taxpayer, competing against a commercial enterprise that cannot begin to compete with the financial incentives that Chevy enjoys - at the expense of both the taxpayer, as well as Tesla.
Need has nothing to do with the love of fast cars. ; )
Not unlimited, but very good.
Its about the only advantage they have over ICE automobiles.
I like the status symbol of driving a coal powered car.
But it is too quite to safely drive around pedestrians. It will need sound effects for people to hear it approaching. I recommend the sounds of a "Top Fuel" dragster for starting out, then switching to a steam locomotive for steady driving.
Cool...About 7-10 dollars per charge...Of course, it is about 20-40 thousand dollars too much for the average American. And the battery replacement costs....
Not against electric vehicles in general, but I am against being forced towards it whenever we still have options.
Fixed it.
And why am I, a taxpayer subsidizing Tesla Motors?
415 NM = 306 ft-lbs
With time, they will get better and cheaper.
Now we just need more AMERICAN Coal powered and Nuclear powered electric plants and a better electric grid.
Try this site. If a guy can do this in his garage, how much should an electric car cost? One thing people need to remember is the electric dangers for the average person. You can get electric shocks from these thing. http://www.opb.org/programs/ofg/segments/view/1686
Interesting. Nice looking. Still an around town car and it doesn’t sound like anything.
Concerning road trips...........how often do you stop for gas? I estimate I stop around every 400 miles. I will lose any where’s from 15-30 minutes at every stop. If these electric cars can be charged in that amount of time, there is no loss. I guess you have to decide how far you want to go without stopping for gas or a re-charge and how long you are willing to wait for either.
Jeremy drives the Tesla Roadster (Top Gear series 12, episode 7)
BBC's 'Top Gear' fires back at Tesla's lawsuit
Tesla filed a lawsuit last week saying that it had to shoot down falsehoods raised on the show even though it aired two years ago. The California company run by entrepreneur Elon Musk, shown in the photo above, says it remains dogged by false allegations. Among other things, Tesla took issue about the car running out of power on the show well before its claimed range and the claim that the brakes didn't work. In fact, Tesla says they remained operable even if a fuse failed.
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Exactly! Plus the 320 mile range is only with an extra battery pack that is not standard.
The ICE powered cars will do the 0-60 trick repeatedly, the Tesla S will not.
From the Wiki entry:
Pricing has been announced at US$57,400 for the base-level model with a 160 mi (260 km) range, US$67,400 for an intermediate model with a 230 mi (370 km) range, and US$77,400 for a high-end “Signature Series” model with a 300 mi (480 km) range.[19] For qualified consumers there is a US$7,500 federal tax credit in the United States and there are other applicable local incentives available in several states.[20]
The company also announced plans to rent or lease high capacity battery packs which offer a 300 mi (480 km) range. Profits from the Model S are expected to fund development of a more affordable third vehicle codenamed “BlueStar”.
The base model will have a range of 160 miles (260 km) when fully charged using a 42 kW·h battery pack (24 kW·h/100 mi, 108 mpgge). Larger, longer range battery pack options will be available as well; the options announced include a range of 230 miles (370 km) from a 65 kW·h pack (26 kW·h/100 mi, 100 mpgge) and a range of 300 miles (480 km) from an 85 kW·h pack (26 kW·h/100 mi, 100 mpgge).[27] The base battery pack will contain 5,000 lithium-ion cells, reported to be sourced from Panasonic, while the larger battery packs will both contain 8,000 cells and weigh approximately 1,200 pounds (540 kg). The largest pack will use the same number of cells, but each cell will have a 30% higher specific energy to enable the pack to store the additional energy.[28] A 45-minute QuickCharge of the 42 kW·h pack will be possible when a 3-phase 480 volt, 100 amp circuit is available (80 amp continuous draw from a 100 amp breaker).
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