Following the launch of the Tesla Semi, Elon Musk took everyone’s breath away by unveiling an all-new version of its electric Roadster. Promised to hit the roads sometime in 2020, the Roadster moniker has come a long way from being the first Tesla road car back in 2008.
The new Tesla Roadster claims to be the fastest accelerating vehicle on the planet. With an earth-shattering 10,000Nm of turning force, yes you read that right, the Roadster will reportedly hit a ton in mere 1.9 seconds. The Roadster won’t go for the fastest car record like the Hennessey or Koenigsegg but settle for a humble top speed of around 400kmph. The 200kWh battery pack will lend the Roadster a range of around 1,000 kilometres. The 200kWh is the biggest battery pack ever fitted to a road car till date. The Roadster also plans to shatter the drag strip with a standing quarter-mile run in 8.8 seconds.
Power comes from three motors - two motors powering each of the rear wheels, while one motor powers both the front wheels – making it a four-wheel-drive. All these numbers are mere promises right now. All of this could change when the actual car comes around at the turn of the decade. The delivery time seems to be implausible rather than the performance numbers right now given the delay Tesla managed with the Model 3.
Appearance wise, the Roadster prototype looks like an athletic cousin of the Porsche Mission E Concept. The headlights are sleek, there are a right amount of curves and bulges all around the car. The roof pops up like the Mazda MX5 for the wind-in-the-hair driving experience. There is a mix of many other vehicles; like the tail is inspired by the Infinity Q60 Concept, the silhouette is scrounged from the Fisker EMotion electric sedan, and other elements are directly borrowed from the stablemate – Model 3 and Model S. Not much of the cabin is revealed apart from a minimalistic and an ultra-modern F1-style steering wheel and a large touchscreen for centre console.
Interestingly, Tesla has revealed the prices of the car arriving in 2020. The base price will be USD 200,000 which can be reserved for USD 50,000 right now. Tesla will also make a limited 1000 units as Founders Series and that will retail at USD 250,000.
