Tesla Roadster
I took a Tesla Roadster for a spin around the Lotus race track in Norfolk earlier today.
On the demonstration, I shat myself the instant the guy put his foot down and slung it into a corner at Mach 3. Insane accelleration on those things.
Had to prepare myself a little before I took the wheel after the demo. Astounding car - totally smooth acceleration - single drive and obviously no gears, so a steady, unbroken climb up the curve. It feels like being on a rocket. A very quiet rocket.
Battery saving restricters kicked in at about 120mph, (100mph takes about 5 and a half seconds to get to), and then brake to go into the corners. (Battery saving meaning, not running the motor at top whack and overbousting it - it is, after all, a computer with laptop batteries and we know what happens to our laptops when we cook them up - it isn't a track day car).
I was expecting tough handling as the battery is quite heavy and it's a rear wheel drive, but the car handled perfectly. The real main issue on the corners is that the seats are designed for the American market, and therefore my skinny arse was sliding all over the place in the seat - go into a right hander at speed, arse slides to the left and the accelerator pedal is about 4 inches further away and compensating took some intelligent thinking - not easy considering the circumstances - but the traction system was incredibly strong with almost zero tilt on the chassy going round the corners. You really can throw it around - it's designed to be beyond most people's driving skill, and therefore you can be really confident with it - it's not scary (unless you're a first time passenger and a professional driver is showing you what it can do, of course)
A very strange moment when taking the foot off the break - the system uses that fraction of a second between breaking and accellerating to take the energy from the drive and redirect it to the battery, effectively recharging it - so breaking is kind of wierd.
Wierdest of all - it's totally silent. It doesn't make a sound. With the windows open, you can hear an electronic hum at top speeds, and of course, the wheels on tarmac / wind etc. Great way to sneak up on people :o)
Would I buy one given £120k - definately. Would I buy one instead of a Lamboghini? Possibly not. But without a doubt, one of the most unique driving experiences you can get - it doesn't drive like anything else
On the demonstration, I shat myself the instant the guy put his foot down and slung it into a corner at Mach 3. Insane accelleration on those things.
Had to prepare myself a little before I took the wheel after the demo. Astounding car - totally smooth acceleration - single drive and obviously no gears, so a steady, unbroken climb up the curve. It feels like being on a rocket. A very quiet rocket.
Battery saving restricters kicked in at about 120mph, (100mph takes about 5 and a half seconds to get to), and then brake to go into the corners. (Battery saving meaning, not running the motor at top whack and overbousting it - it is, after all, a computer with laptop batteries and we know what happens to our laptops when we cook them up - it isn't a track day car).
I was expecting tough handling as the battery is quite heavy and it's a rear wheel drive, but the car handled perfectly. The real main issue on the corners is that the seats are designed for the American market, and therefore my skinny arse was sliding all over the place in the seat - go into a right hander at speed, arse slides to the left and the accelerator pedal is about 4 inches further away and compensating took some intelligent thinking - not easy considering the circumstances - but the traction system was incredibly strong with almost zero tilt on the chassy going round the corners. You really can throw it around - it's designed to be beyond most people's driving skill, and therefore you can be really confident with it - it's not scary (unless you're a first time passenger and a professional driver is showing you what it can do, of course)
A very strange moment when taking the foot off the break - the system uses that fraction of a second between breaking and accellerating to take the energy from the drive and redirect it to the battery, effectively recharging it - so breaking is kind of wierd.
Wierdest of all - it's totally silent. It doesn't make a sound. With the windows open, you can hear an electronic hum at top speeds, and of course, the wheels on tarmac / wind etc. Great way to sneak up on people :o)
Would I buy one given £120k - definately. Would I buy one instead of a Lamboghini? Possibly not. But without a doubt, one of the most unique driving experiences you can get - it doesn't drive like anything else