Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green
VIDEO: Tesla Roadster gets a tough workout, drifting included
Click above to watch videos after the jump
You've no doubt seen a number of Tesla Roadster reviews already, including a couple of our own. But we've yet to see the little electric car from Silicon Valley get put through its paces, and we mean really thrashed. Enter OnCars.com, which was given use of Elon Musk's own personal Tesla Roadster with the new v1.5 drivetrain for a couple a days. Host Emile Bouret takes the Tesla to task over a three-part video series that sees the car getting sideways more than once. We can see exactly how much body roll the Roadster exhibits under full load cornering, which isn't much. Bouret does a great job of revealing how the Tesla handles at the limit, and the excellent production quality of each video is only icing on the cake. Check out all three videos after the jump to see the best review yet of the 2009 Tesla Roadster.
Gallery: Tesla Roadster v1.5
[Source: OnCars.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Farris 12:05PM (12/05/2008)
Out of curiosity, how much of the Lotus chassis and suspension were kept on the Tesla? That may explain the lack of body roll.
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Luke 3:29PM (12/05/2008)
The official figure is absurdly low, like 9% lotus or something, but I bet they are counting the whole chassis and a single lug nut equally as one "part". By weight it's probably lot more.
Josh Reiter 9:06PM (12/06/2008)
I think they said in one of the videos that a 30% of the chassis comes from Lotus.
xcrunk 12:07PM (12/05/2008)
Sorry folks, but Tesla is just about belly up.
Enjoy the video...
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Alex 12:25PM (12/05/2008)
so weird to just hear tires screaching.
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Alex 12:28PM (12/05/2008)
my understanding is that because of the completely different weight distributions between the Tesla and a standard Lotus, there are significant changes to the suspension. I think Lotus engineers did help the Tesla crew get it right though.
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Eugene 12:40PM (12/05/2008)
Who writes the script for these things? Give me a proper review from the Stig.
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Mirko 1:41PM (12/05/2008)
Top Gear will have the Tesla on December 14th, so you don't need to wait much longer for that.
1970Dodge 1:12PM (12/05/2008)
"...Its 6831 Batteries..."
...they just HAD to add that extra one eh?
I am glad to hear that the car is 3-phase. For some reason I thought it was DC.
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SirLoin 1:42PM (12/08/2008)
It probably wouldn't have been called a Tesla if the car was powered by Direct Current. Or at least would have been mildly amusing.
My vote is that all the new cars are named after pioneers in the theory and practice of electricity. I.E the Volt for Allesandro Volta.
Tecmec 2:41PM (12/05/2008)
If it wasn't AC they couldn't call it the Tesla Roadster. A DC car would have to be called the Edison roadster. ;)
Jim R 1:30PM (12/05/2008)
Us performance enthusiasts have little to worry about. This is a proof of concept. Even if the company doesn't survive, the tech is there and has been proven. That means eventually it'll filter down to the rest of us at a lower cost.
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Clem 1:38PM (12/05/2008)
Needs a v8, electric cars won´t do it for me, if I was to buy a toy for the weekend, this isn´t it, kinda like watching grass grow silently. It is not always being what you should, or made to like, by leftest, it should be what you choose to want.
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Marc-O 1:45PM (12/05/2008)
Here you go with your V8-related drivel again - you keep saying "leftest", what are you trying to mean by that ?
Jerk Face [GT:xJERKFACEx] 1:51PM (12/05/2008)
Isn't it obvious Marc? Anyone who would buy a Tesla is clearly a leftist liberal terrorist. Real Americans buy sh*tty, inefficient V8's and throw American flags all over them.
Farris 2:23PM (12/05/2008)
Have you ever heard grass grow UNsilently?
Reader 2:56PM (12/05/2008)
And what if you want an electric car, shouldn't you be able to buy it?
Frylock350 3:10PM (12/05/2008)
I love the roar of a pushrod V8 more than anyone, but if you handed me the keys to this fine AMERICAN eletric sports car, I wouldn't complain. In fact, in an ideal world, I'd have a Tesla as my daily driver, and a Challenger SRT8 6sp as my garage kept weekend car.
cwcentral 3:16AM (12/07/2008)
Well, if it leftist, looks like leftists have lots of money in this economy--I'd rather be in that situation.
Marc-O 2:02PM (12/05/2008)
Jerk Face, I think you meant "terrorest"...
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