Tesla Model R (on Yahoo/Edmunds wish list)

I'd get the Model R, seems like a distant fantasy but 800+ hp and 800+ ft lb of torque all with electric motors seem like an amazing car!

this car needs to happen. Even with the same freakin platform it's just changing the sheet metal.

The imagined technology with supercapacitors seems strange. Why add that to a battery electric vehicle? The battery can already deliver enormous current in an instant. The power electronics and the motors may not want to be hit by even bigger lightning bolts, and the software to coordinate charging and discharging from both batteries and supercapacitors would be distinctly non-trivial.

But a two-door Model S coupé with four-wheel drive and Performance Plus-level dynamics - bring it on!

I'm not not aware of Tesla saying that they are considering a super-coupe on the Model S platform. But Tesla has said that they plan to do a next gen Roadster, and that it will shred.

Tesla Roadster To Return In 2018: Report | Reviews | Prices | Australian specifications

But the version from this article is basically just adding more power to the Model S chassis in a coupe layout, which could take the Model S P85 up a notch, but does the market really want that? The Model S Perf is already more oomph than almost any buyer in that category wants or needs, and represents the performance version. The car isn't designed to be a killer, but rather a large luxury car, and it does that very well, with a perf version available for those wanting to be able to beat a 911 in a large luxury sedan.

Is there enough of a market to do a Tesla version of an M6 super-coupe? As I wrote above, I think they pretty much already have that. It is the Model S Perf. They also have the 85 kWh standard for those not needing to accelerate fast enough to make your passenger spill their coffee and gasp. So I think they've covered that market, and I think that THEY think they've covered it.

Should they make a Model S convertible? I don't think so. In 2012 BMW sold 7,880 6-series convertibles. If you combine that with the 5-series (which doesn't have a convertible), that is 2.2% of sales for convertibles as a percentage of converible+sedan+coupes. If you combine the 6- and 7-series, convertibles are 9.6% of sales. The 3-series is made up of 5.9% convertibles. (2012 US sales)

Bmw Sales Figures | BIMMERPOST | BMW Forum, BMW News and BMW Blog

So I don't see much value in adding a luxury convertible to the Model S line (with "value" defined as incremental, profitable sales).

There may be a Gen 3 convertible, or the next gen Roadster may be a start-from-scratch effort to seriously compete with supercars. Or both. But I doubt that you can compete with the big boys with a Tesla electric version of an M3 convertible, with Model S styling and language adapted to the purpose. They may do that, but I think that isn't really the halo car that the next gen Roadster will be. At least I hope they aren't satisfied with a Model S shrunk down and made into a convertible. The competition definitely won't stop there. And GeorgeB doesn't seem to want to stop there. And we all know how Elon feels about this. And the Furai within Franz wants to go there. I mean, the Model S pays the bills, and we'll see about Gen 3 styling. But I'm sure that in their spare time the design team is often drawing up Roadster supercar designs.

Tesla Roadster To Return In 2018: Report | Reviews | Prices | Australian specifications

aznt1217 said:

this car needs to happen. Even with the same freakin platform it's just changing the sheet metal.

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Agreed, this would be a nice (easy) addition to the Tesla portfolio and could gain some traction.

I drove a Ferrari for the first time in my life today. Man did I love it. As I got back into my S, though, I thought of what a marvelous piece of technology the Ferrari was. Perhaps the pinacle of ICE technology. Then I thought what a outmoded technology the ICE was and thought about what you could do with an electric car. I don't think you would use the same platform to build a Supercar though. Too big and you don't need all that range.

Get a smaller platform, carbon fiber shell, two motors and man you got a car that can will eat McLaren for lunch

ZestyChicken said:

I drove a Ferrari for the first time in my life today. Man did I love it. As I got back into my S, though, I thought of what a marvelous piece of technology the Ferrari was. Perhaps the pinacle of ICE technology. Then I thought what a outmoded technology the ICE was and thought about what you could do with an electric car. I don't think you would use the same platform to build a Supercar though. Too big and you don't need all that range.

Get a smaller platform, carbon fiber shell, two motors and man you got a car that can will eat McLaren for lunch

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Or you can apparently just add the Perfomance Plus package to the Model S.....:smile:

It is called the Rimac Concept One.

ipdamages said:

It is called the Rimac Concept One.

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I had the same thought.

gjunky said:

Or you can apparently just add the Perfomance Plus package to the Model S.....:smile:

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But the weight has to come WAY WAY down. I sold a Ferrari 360 when we started buying Teslas. The Modena and its successors weigh only about 3,000 lbs. There are definitely some things that I do miss about it-- not all the noise and violence of the ICE-- but the handling dynamics are still well beyond what Tesla has yet delivered.

But apropos of today-- with Chris Porritt on board, I am confident that a fabulous sportscar/supercar from Tesla is not that far from reality.

ipdamages said:

It is called the Rimac Concept One.

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Beautiful car. They use a Lithium-Iron-Phosphate battery. I think it's lower density than the Model S's? No?


They didn't use a skateboard design from what I can tell. Not sure where they put those batteries.

By the way, they didn't invent the motor in each wheel thing. GM did. They just didn't build a car yet. Because they are stupid.

Will be fun to see what Tesla develops on the new Gen3 platform. The competition keeps improving.

Porsche 911 Turbo, Turbo S: An eye-watering pair
"Yes, but the new 911 Turbo S does 0-62mph in 3.1 seconds, 197mph flat-out and can lap the Nürburgring Nordschliefe in less than 7 minutes and 30 seconds." and not cheap "the Turbo starts at £118,349 [$149,250 in the US], with the Turbo S costing from £140,852 [$182,050]"

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20130503-porsche-911-turbo-revealed

ZestyChicken said:

Beautiful car. They use a Lithium-Iron-Phosphate battery. I think it's lower density than the Model S's? No?

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Yes, lower energy density, but much higher power density. They use A123 cells, last I knew, and I think they use an "I" shaped layout for the batteries, with the main part running down the "transmission tunnel".

By the way, they didn't invent the motor in each wheel thing. GM did. They just didn't build a car yet. Because they are stupid.

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Actually Porsche may have invented the wheel motor back in the late 1800's, but the Rimac does not use wheel motors, they use individual motors inboard connected to a gear reduction drive, which then connects to axle shafts driving the wheels. Wheel motors are a good concept but the reality of implementing them has proven challenging to say the least.

Some version of this deserves serious consideration. This is the Tesla for Nurburgring. It would generate a lot of buzz and halo effect and sell at a high enough price to pay for itself. Eventually the same body would be available as an s-platform coupe without the supercar performance or price.

Hi guys, what do you think if the new Roadster looked like the new Lotus Elise?

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/lotus-elise-news-2015-lotus-elise-revealed

Not bad except for the giant, inefficient snout.

JRP3 said:

Not bad except for the giant, inefficient snout.

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I agree. Seems like they are trying to be a baby Lambo. And not doing it well. I really liked the last Elise, but the Evora and now this are not for me going in a good direction.

Ludus said:

Some version of this deserves serious consideration. This is the Tesla for Nurburgring. It would generate a lot of buzz and halo effect and sell at a high enough price to pay for itself. Eventually the same body would be available as an s-platform coupe without the supercar performance or price.

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Love the looks of that coupe. I'd get that over the sedan if given the option.

Does anyone know if a Model S has been around the ring yet? If so, what was it's time?

check this out...
Rimac Automobili
i've met mate rimac in osnabrueck three weeks ago. my tesla roadster is slow and powerless compared to this! i have never feeled such a force in a car...

ZestyChicken said:

I drove a Ferrari for the first time in my life today. Man did I love it. As I got back into my S, though, I thought of what a marvelous piece of technology the Ferrari was. Perhaps the pinacle of ICE technology. Then I thought what a outmoded technology the ICE was and thought about what you could do with an electric car. I don't think you would use the same platform to build a Supercar though. Too big and you don't need all that range.

Get a smaller platform, carbon fiber shell, two motors and man you got a car that can will eat McLaren for lunch

Click to expand...