The 2020 Tesla Roadster Will Do 0-60mph In 1.9sec, 1/4-Mile In 8.8
0-60mph in 1.9 seconds is one hell of a figure to open with. It’s the benchmark sprint that Tesla says its new Roadster - which had a surprise appearance at the company’s semi truck unveiling - will be capable of when it arrives in 2020, and it’d make it not just the fastest accelerating electric vehicle, but the fastest accelerating production car. Period.
But that’s just a start. Tesla is also claiming a ‘250mph+’ top speed for the all-wheel drive sports car - unusually high for an EV. 0-100mph will happen in 4.2 seconds, and it’ll be able to run an 8.8 second quarter-mile. Oh, and it’ll have a 620 mile range.
It’s made possible by a 200kWh battery pack, but how Tesla will offset the inevitable high weight of such a thing, we’re not yet sure.
It’ll seat four people, and have a removal glass roof panel that can be stored in the boot. It looks like the rear seats are particularly small, but away from Porsche 911s, few super-fast sports cars have rear chairs of any kind.
The Tesla Roadster is a car that makes some very hefty claims, so should we be skeptical? At least a little, we’d say - while this is a tantalising look at an electric sports car of the near future, the reality of the present is Tesla isn’t in the best health. It recently reported its biggest ever loss, and Model 3 production is way, way off the firm’s original targets.
Can it manage to sort out Model 3 ‘bottleneck’ issues, build its new semi-truck and put the fastest accelerating road car the world has ever seen into production? We sure hope so.
If all goes to plan, the Roadster will set you back $200,000, or $250,000 for one of the 1000 ‘Founders Series’ cars.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
BUT… can it handle well around corners,
however? That is the $200,000 question…
Well its designed to hyper car unlike the P100D so yes. Also, it has active torque vectoring like the Acura NSX (the new hybrid one).
And imo the low CoG will help it around the corners too
No-they claim it can do 250+mph; for this to be possible, the car would need enough batteries to power a small city, which would add lots of weight
Everyones face during that 1.9 seconds
Clarksons whole face will prolapse
I know a guy who weighs 140 kilos and sold his 45hp wankel kart because the acceleration put so much pressure on his stomach that he had to puke.
My point being, this car could kill fat people.
Poor Bugatti, first both their records are destroyed and now Tesla is saying that their truck is more aerodynamic than their Chiron.
Poor Bugatti…
Bugatti needs more cooling and i would guess also more downforce…so it produces more drag.
Bugatti is being obliterated lol
Poor demon too it held the 1/4 mile record for a few months.
I’m guesing the weight is heavy as a muscle car
But… but, it can’t say vroom bruum brap? No thank you. I would rather have an old Miata with some sound than this then.
Eh, you take some you give some. We get mindboggling performance but give up screaming V12s. I’ll miss those screaming Pagani Zondas, but I can’t resist a ultra high power car that you can daily drive too.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahah would you now ;)
CarThrottle comment section in a nutshell.
They need to figure out a way to incorporate sound into these electric cars. Even if it’s just an electric motor sound I’d be happier.
I would rather have a miata just becuase its lighter. Can’t imagine a heavy roadster even if its as fast as they claim
Let’s all just take a moment to look at that torque figure. 10,000 nm. That torque which it makes to THE WHEELS. Of course it will drop off at high speed just like current Teslas, but the fact that it can deliver that is feat of engineering. I wouldn’t be surprised even with torque drop off if it still made 3000 nm of torque at the LEAST. Meaning this car could potentially break traction all the way to vmax.
On a side not I think its funny how every time post a comment praising electric cars it always get downvotes. It’s funny that some people are such whiny little snowflakes that they can’t accept how great technology has become.
The magic behind it is the traction control. An electrical engine can be controlled 1000 times smoother and closer to the limit than a combustion engine. Electrical cars without traction control will probably never be a thing.
Well, it’s like that car with 4.5k HP. It’s never really going to get all used, because there is no point to having so much of it. No tire can withstand 10k nm of torque at once and still stick to the ground. And 10k nm of torque is useless without the power for it.
But can it lap the Nurburgring without overheating?
Considering it’s a purpose built hyper car unlike a P100D family sedan, there’s a 99% chance yes. Nio did it with the EP9.
I’d like to know how they handle the cooling. I don’t see many vents on the car.
How the hell does it manage to put 10,000 NM of torque to the ground?!?
And also RIP to everyone including myself who’s cars are going to get smoked by semi trucks ffs.
Same way any high power car does: don’t use all that power at once.
1.9 seconds? Only in the official tests. No matter how much torque you have, you can’t get under about 2.5 without racing tyres.
The P100D managed to do 0-60 in 2.53 with 245 Continentals. Now imagine if it had 305 Trofeo R’s like on the Camaro Z/28 or even massive 325s like the ones on the Porsche 918 rear wheels. I think it’s possible.
I beg to differ. Try to back up your claims
Calling Targa a Roadster is like calling a Peasant a Chicken… there’s a difference between the two. 😛
One is a poor person, and one is a bird similar to a pheasant?