Filed under: Motorsports, Convertibles, Hybrids/Alternative, Green
Tesla considering a track-ready version of the Roadster
click above for more high-res shots of the Tesla Roadster
One thing that's been called into question is whether or not the Tesla Roadster will make a viable track day vehicle, but until now, there was one major hurdle for Tesla's engineers to overcome: cooling. The motor currently equipped in the Roadster is air-cooled, which wouldn't hold up to the rigors of track duty. But Tesla is working on a liquid-cooled version that wouldn't cause the power electronics module (PEM) to default into limp-home mode and subsequently cut power if heat became an issue.
The possibility of a track-ready version is now officially in the cards. By utilizing the new liquid-cooled motor and removing about half of the batteries found in the standard Roadster, Tesla is considering releasing a variant called the Roadster 120, with the number referring to the projected range. Nixing around 500 pounds from the curb weight is going to do wonders for acceleration and handling, while simultaneously reducing the load on the motor.
Naturally, none of this is going to come to fruition until Tesla starts cranking out the "standard" version on March 17th, but when we talked to a few Tesla execs while evaluating the Roadster, they mentioned that their car was trying to appeal to two types of individuals: people who are only interested in EVs and don't care about performance, and drivers looking for a quick, engaging coupe that just happens to be electrically powered to boot. A track-friendly version would be of particular appeal to the latter and we can't wait to give it a go around one of the great tracks within driving distance of Tesla's South Bay facilities.
Gallery: First Drive: Tesla Roadster
[Sources: Tesla Motors, AutoblogGreen]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
tankd0g 3:13PM (1/28/2008)
They think cooling is their major obstacle? How about range? The only way this thing could be used as a track vehicle is if they make the batteries modular so they can be swaped out, or oyu buy two and always keep one on charge. My Celica which gets 25mpg on the street gets 9-12 on the track. I use two full tanks of gas on a given track day.
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Superprime 3:20PM (1/28/2008)
Range? You go more than 200 miles on a track?
Remember an electric motor doesn't use more energy if it's pushed harder. All that counts is the distance traveled.
tankd0g 3:28PM (1/28/2008)
That's only 66 laps of a 3 mile track like VIR. Like an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours track time. That's assuming it actually does 200 under those conditions. And then it has nothing left to get it home so I guess it's going to be a trailer queen.
I'm surprised they are trying to actively cool it rather than devise a method to use the heat to generate more electricity or heat sink it away.
why not the LS2LS7? 3:29PM (1/28/2008)
Superprime:
You're wrong. You couldn't be more wrong.
To accelerate, you do work. To do work requires energy. And if you accelerate faster, you need more energy. And that's before you even talk about wind resistance.
Taking half the batteries out makes no sense to me. You're looking at track runtime of less than 30 minutes even with a full complement of batteries.
Frick 3:29PM (1/28/2008)
that's BS superprime....
run an electric motor with no load, and then with a load. Do you think both will consume the same amount of amps? The faster you accelerate, the higher the load on the motor....
naggs 3:52PM (1/28/2008)
a track car needs to be able to lap all day if needed, no good if it has to charge for hours.
and of course an electric car will be less efficient pushed hard. the regenerative braking looses effectiveness and the aero resistance goes up dramatically with speed.
track time is expensive enough as it is, would be an exercise in frustration to spend most of the time waiting for the thing to recharge.
that is the problem that i see with this idea
Mark Ryan 4:41PM (1/28/2008)
Whatever, my R/C Traxx only lasted twenty minutes a run between eight hour charges and I was perfectly fine with that...
...as an eight-year-old boy.
Seoultrain 5:55PM (1/28/2008)
I do like the idea of modular batteries, which is probably a must-have with an electric racer. And yeah, NO chance of 200 miles while on a track. Frequent braking means more inertia lost, frequent acceleration means more energy used, and hard braking is not ideal for energy regeneration.
lad 10:50PM (1/28/2008)
I can assure you that if TMC doesn't put the car on the track, others will. So why not control the process to assure positive PR...this is a smart move to protect the brand. Hey! This is an exciting car and has world class acceleration. You add 500lbs of lightness and you have a hellacious responsive car that can set new standards for race cars. When the race guys see all you need is to replace the drive-line to get a more responsive race car, the rush will be to BEVs.
On the racing version, I would like to see TMC add supercaps with the batteries to store more of the braking regen energy. As you know if you have ever done a lap full-on. It's wide open acceleration as early out of the turn as possible followed by braking into the turn as late as possible. Running the roadster on the track is the best worse case engineering test I can think of. If it does well at Sears Point, the streets are a cinch.
why not the LS2LS7? 1:48AM (1/29/2008)
Capacitors store almost no energy. The energy density is something like 1/100th of a LIon. So even if the Lion can't get 90% of the energy because the car is braking too fast, it'll still store 10x as much energy as the capacitor.
993C4S 3:15PM (1/28/2008)
It would be interesting to see a true electric car have a track going version. How would it be classed and what would it race against? I'm envisioning a "tuned" Prius pitted against this track version Tesla.
I'm surprised that air-cooled won't work, especially after removing half the batteries. Air-cooling worked for Porsche all the way through 1998 and some of their best know race cars were and are air cooled. I'm guessing the heat put off from those batteries must be fairly significant.
http://www.993C4S.com/wordpress
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John 8:01PM (1/28/2008)
There are Porsche aficionados who insist that classic Porsches were oil-cooled as opposed to air-cooled. This might explain the 12-quart oil capacity.
Jared 3:26PM (1/28/2008)
Earth to Tesla:
Stop it! Just stop it!
Concentrate on just one single thing: building a viable car and shipping it. Once you prove that you can actually DO that, only then should start thinking about expanding the range.
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tankd0g 3:32PM (1/28/2008)
Their hype machine seems to have no transmission problems :)
Rocketboy 3:30PM (1/28/2008)
120 Miles under extreme conditions, with yet another electric motor attached? Bwahahahahah...
If they can get 60 miles on a track out of it I'd be shocked.
(Bad pun not intended, but pointed out for your reading pleasure)
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Jay 3:34PM (1/28/2008)
Keep the batteries, double the voltage!
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Dan 3:36PM (1/28/2008)
In R/C car racing, electric races used to last four minutes. In recent years that's gone up. But still, gas races last half an hour or more including several pit stops.
I expect you'll see the same here. This thing will be great for autocrossing but a waste of time on a big track. There's quite a few electric Locosts out there in the same class.
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tankd0g 3:41PM (1/28/2008)
It would be ideal for autox once they fix the transmissions.
Dan 3:52PM (1/28/2008)
I doubt you'd get enough speed in an autocross to make 2nd gear worthwhile.
tankd0g 4:07PM (1/28/2008)
I beleive it's 1st gear they have locked out in the current transmissions.