Coupé utility

Personally, I think this discussion is worthy of its own thread. Either that, or I apologize for getting off-topic under "Next Gen Tesla Sportscar" since a utility/delivery vehicle is hardly a sports car.

S-2000 Roadster said:

I was considering the possibilities for a pickup truck variation on the Tesla Roadster; one which maintains the low profile but has a wide, long bed for storing large flat objects. Obviously, such a vehicle could not carry tall things, but if you need to transport relief maps or other large documents that maybe cannot be rolled up, or anything else that is sizable in two dimensions but not the third like sheets of glass, then there seems to be an opportunity for a new class of cargo vehicle that has a very low drag area. No idea how much cargo that fits these dimensional constraints is moved around these days, but if Tesla Motors designs a reusable platform then perhaps it would not take a great deal of work to alter the body this way.

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jcstp said:

Is this the kind of car you want?
View attachment 2291
A chevrolet camino ss

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Ah, yes, the El Camino.
... with a cover for the bed (I'm sure I've seen those, too) and a shorter engine compartment to reduce weight. Front wheel drive with transverse motor should require very little room, and cooling the motor might be easier. It would need the extreme low profile of the Roadster (and it would have to look equally sexy). The El Camino is lower than a pickup truck, but I think it could have an even lower drag area. If only I could draw!

P.S. I'd never heard of the Ford Ranchero before today, but that fits the bill about as well. In my day, "El Camino" was the generic term for any vehicle of this configuration. I guess Chevy won the Kleenex award in this category.

7racer said:

do you mean a shooting brake?

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No, not at all. (but that's an educational link, thanks!)
Imagine El Camino with a windowless shell / bed cover.

P.S. The front of the Roadster is much smaller than the front of a Ranchero, but I wonder if a front-engine revision of the Roadster front end would need to be larger. The motor and PEM are not small! Maybe it would have to be almost as large as the Ranchero.