2009 Tesla Roadster
Price: $101,500+
Engine (Motor): 375 Volt AC Electric
Torque: 276 lb-ft.
Horsepower: 284 hp
0-60 MPH: 3.9 Sec.
Top Speed: 125 mph
EST. MPC*: 220 Combined (*Miles Per Charge)
Recharge Time: 3.5 Hours
Available: In Production
INTERIOR:
Although the passenger cabin is a bit tight you’ll feel as if the car has been molded around you. All your controls (shifter, radio, navigation, charge level) are within arms length and easy to use. There is not much room for storage, but the Roadster was never intended for long family vacations. This is the future and you should sit back and realize this is history being made. Enjoy the ride.
EXTERIOR:
Tesla Motor’s design team deserves a standing ovation for this jem, pushing the boundaries and breaking barriers. The lines on the Roadster are clean and efficiently aerodynamic. The 2009 Roadster has carbon fiber panels which help limit the weight to 2,690. You will be the talk of the neighborhood with this ultimate green machine sitting in your driveway.
ENGINE (MOTOR):
Some people find it hard to imagine the car’s supercar-level acceleration comes from a motor about the size of a watermelon. And while most car engines have to be moved with winches or forklifts, their’s weighs about 115 pounds. Compare that to the mass of machinery under the hood of a $300,000 supercar that still can’t accelerate as quickly as the Tesla Roadster. They’ve also designed their motor to have efficiencies of 85 to 95 percent; this way the precious stored energy of the battery pack ends up propelling you down the road instead of just heating up the trunk.
BATTERY:
The Tesla Roadster’s battery pack — the car’s “fuel tank” — represents the biggest innovation in the Tesla Roadster and is one of the largest and most advanced battery packs in the world. Tesla Motors has combined available and proven lithium ion battery technology with their own unique battery pack design to provide multiple layers of safety. It’s light, durable, recyclable, and it is capable of delivering enough power to accelerate the Tesla Roadster from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds. Meanwhile, the battery stores enough energy for the vehicle to travel about 220 miles without recharging, something no other production electric vehicle in history can claim.
SAFETY:
Tesla Motors has taken every step to make the Roadster as safe as it is efficient and beautiful. The Roadster is equipped with the ABS system which ensures the car will remain stable and stop in a straight line when the brakes are applied. The Tesla Roadster features driver and passenger side airbags, as well as front and rear energy absorbing zones. This should put your mind at ease and let you concentrate on the road.