FIRSTDRIVE TESLA ROADSTER SPORT:Tesla's Roadster made green motoring sexy – the Sport, writes Ben Oliver, makes it irresistible
FORGET THE price. Yes, the Tesla Roadster gets even more ludicrously expensive with the arrival of the new Sport version, which adds €15,000 to the already eye- watering €84,000 of the base model – and that’s before taxes.
But the world’s first electric supercar was never intended to compete on a rational level with conventional supercars of the same price. This car – which looks like a Lotus Elise, will average 390km before a long recharge and doesn’t have an engine – doesn’t have any natural rivals. We’re not glossing over its shortcomings, but the people who are buying Teslas already have a garage full of supercars or don’t want one at all, and buy the Tesla for very different reasons. The usual ideas of value just don’t apply here.
The original version of the Roadster first went on sale last year. Mainstream car makers are still showing concept electric cars and promising they’ll be in production soon, but with this new Sport version of the Roadster, tiny start-up Tesla is already at its second generation.
Tesla was established by South African-born Silicon Valley entrepreneur Elon Musk. The idea is that it’s desirable but hugely expensive, but helps to create the expertise and economies of scale that will eventually produce electric cars we can all afford.
It seems to be working. The first European Tesla dealership in London will have delivered 100 Roadsters by the end of next year, and new dealerships are opening in Munich and Monaco. Tesla’s more affordable, practical Model S saloon goes into production in 2011, at about €60,000. And Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler has taken a stake in Tesla and plans to use its electric-drive technology in its Smart and A and B Class models, which will go on sale from about 2012.
If you can’t wait that long and have a spare six figures to lay out on an electric car, should you buy a Roadster Sport? Frankly yes, and not just because it’s good for the environment. It’s sensational to drive.
This new Sport version concentrates the Roadster’s unique appeal, so if you were already planning to lay out €84,000 on the standard model, you ought to go the whole organically-reared hog and get the Sport.
Your extra €15,000 buys you another 40PS and 25Nm of torque, taking the totals to a very impressive 288PS and 400Nm. The 0-100km/h time drops from 3.9 to 3.7 seconds but the difference, especially to the mid-range acceleration, feels far more marked. The thump in the back it delivers when you floor the gas – slang Tesla plans to make obsolete – has crossed the boundary from frightening to simply absurd.
There's now an angry little whirr from the electric motor, but thankfully it's not enough to ruin the Tesla's unique, weird and addictive marriage of maximum motion to zero commotion. The near-silence, the seamless single-speed transmission and the fact that the AC motor delivers maximum torque from standstill means the Roadster Sport leaves the lights like the Starship Enterpriseentering warp drive. This sensation alone justifies the cost.
But the original Roadster was already capable of besting Ferraris and Lamborghinis up to the national speed limit; the biggest improvement is actually to the Tesla’s handling. Its new Öhlins adjustable suspension delivers a more fluid ride and does a better job of disguising the car’s weight. The Lotus Elise, on which the Tesla’s chassis is based, weighs about 860kg, but the huge lithium-ion battery pack (mounted where the engine would normally sit) increases the car’s mass to 1,238kg, despite its expensive ultra-light carbon-fibre bodywork, blunting the delicate handling for which the Lotus is renowned.
The Sport version goes a long way towards restoring it; steering response and grip at both ends are improved, but you’re still aware that you’re fighting the laws of physics, and the Roadster isn’t quite as much fun through the bends as it is in a straight line.
The brakes are great, but you’ll seldom need to use them, as the engine-braking effect of the revised motor feels stronger than in the original Roadster.
Come off the throttle and the AC motor turns into a generator, capturing energy from the car’s momentum to recharge the battery and extend its range, and slowing the car noticeably. This is one of the stand-out characteristics of electric cars, and once you’re used to it, it’s great. Not only can you forget about shifting gear, but you’ll seldom need to shift your right foot either.
The Roadster’s cabin has been given an upgrade; it’s now better assembled and with better-quality materials. It hasn’t suddenly vaulted into the €100,000 supercar quality bracket, but with such unique, extraordinary dynamics – and such significance for the future of motoring – we just don’t think it needs to.
Factfile Tesla Roadster Sport
Engine: 288PS, 400Nm torque, 390km range, 3.5-hour charge at 70A, three-phase AC electric motor, 14,000rpm limit, single-speed transmission
0-100km/h: 3.7 seconds
Top speed: 200km/h
CO2: 0g/km
Price: €99,000 ex taxes