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Performance/Sport option

Will you be ordering the Sport option?

  • Definitely! Gimmee gimmee!!!

    Votes: 20 20.6%
  • Want it, but it depends on price.

    Votes: 53 54.6%
  • Don't want it, I'll pass.

    Votes: 24 24.7%

  • Total voters
    97
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The hands-down biggest announcement from the October 1st 2011 event was the disclosure that not only is there going to be a sport option, but that it's going to be available from launch!

It currently is unknown if the feature is going to be Signature only initially or of general production will include it as an option as well. Likewise pricing is undetermined.
 
I had the definite impression that it would be available to all. In reality it probably doesn't make sense for smaller battery sizes.

I would love the Sport option but it depends on price - it's a family car, so how much is the difference between 5.6secs and 4.4secs worth?

P.S. I was told 4.4secs several times last night.
 
I would love the Sport option but it depends on price - it's a family car, so how much is the difference between 5.6secs and 4.4secs worth?

Excellent and very valid point. If you just want an electric family hauler, then any extra cost for the faster acceleration would be frivolous and arguably wasteful.

However, some of us want to have fun in the hauler when it's not being used for trips to the recycle center or the soccer game. That's why the Audi A7 and the Porsche Panamera are selling so well. Due to circumstances, we have to buy a station wagon. Well, if it has to be a station wagon, then let it be zippiest station wagon I can afford!
 
After talking to several employees as the event closed, I learned that Elon's pushing for game-changing performance. It's not enough to have a "pretty fast" sedan. He wants these cars to blow away sports cars, and even be faster than the Roadster at some point. This came out when he spoke to employees the night before the event. I believe it. Elon's vision permeates all aspects of the car. This is not just another car.

I doubt that anything other than the 300 mile pack could provide the power needed for the sport option. I talked to battery, inverter (new name for the PEM), and motor engineers and was told that the 300 mile pack would provide the fastest ride because of the supported per-cell discharge rate.
 
... Elon's pushing for game-changing performance. It's not enough to have a "pretty fast" sedan. He wants these cars to blow away sports cars, and even be faster than the Roadster at some point.
One of the engineers was saying that they kept shrinking and shrinking the space he had to work with for electronics. He was challenged at every step. He said it with a smile though.

... .inverter (new name for the PEM), ....

That thing has more name changes than Prince. Was told it is full of lots of IGBTs.
 
Frivolous for me; pass. Will probably never get to see the 4.4 in any case unless I go on a race track (never have done, never will).
Yea, I'm sorely afraid you're correct...but it's still such a huge temptation since I want the larger battery pack anyway. I admit it's a fun thing to consider and I'd love to be able to show people just what an EV is really capable of.
 
when elon musk compared the sport with porsche i understud pamera not carrera. a other powertrain architect told me, the normal version will have 900a and the sport will have 1200a. together with 16.000 rpm and a higher gear ratio this results i a much better acceleration. the on-board charger comes in two version: 10 kW and 20 kW. the latter are simple 2x10 kw charger. it may be possible to charge from two different phases with up to 40A an 277V. but there is not enough space for a third one to provide 3y-phase charging. the external charger consist of 9x 10kW charger and allows to charge within 45min up to 80% capacity. 120a at 277V/480V
 
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Yes, Eberhard, that is what I heard too. I think you broke the news on DC charger being 9x 10kW though. First I heard of that. Makes sense with the modular approach.

Do we know if the published torque curve on their web site is for non-Sport?
We all know of Roadster base vs Sport but that is only 3.9->3.7s. With Model S, going from 5.6->4.4s is a HUGE leap in performance. The Sport motor must be much more powerful than the base motor. The math of 1200a/900a works out to 1/3 more power, and the 4.4s time is about 1/3 quicker than 5.6 so that makes sense.
Roadster Sport I think was 800a vs 650a base which is like 20% more power, but Sport Roadster is not 20% quicker than base Roadster.
Maybe due to air cooling or other issues, the Roadster Sport can't use its power advantage as "widely" as Model S sport will with its'.


By the way, at the factory tour weekend when Sport was confirmed for production, I heard a lot of staff was surprised by this.
Apparently they kept the news of Sport (available from the first day) as not well known internally, so the announcement caught a bunch of people by surprise.
 
Apparently they kept the news of Sport (available from the first day) as not well known internally, so the announcement caught a bunch of people by surprise.

I think Elon wanted this announcement to be his "Macbook Air in a manila envelope" surprise for everyone. It's possible that they weren't sure they could deliver the Sport at launch until the last minute. I think they could have sold out the Signature Edition months ago if this had been announced earlier.
 
One of the engineers was saying that they kept shrinking and shrinking the space he had to work with for electronics. He was challenged at every step. He said it with a smile though.

The PEM is pretty small and cylindrical. I commented on this to one of the engineers, and asked how the boards were arranged inside. He said that was proprietary; all he would say is that the PEM was liquid cooled. I suppose that would be one of the reasons for the compact size; liquid cooling would minimize the size of the heat sinks.

I think I'm actually learning more by reading this forum than by attending the event. Some people seem to have much better luck extracting information than I did. They either tried harder or just happened to talk to the right guy!
 
i got also the information, that the continous poweroutput will be double of the roadster and is rated at 80kW. with the higher rpm at 16.000 versus 14.000 of the roadster allows a higher gear ratio resulting in a much higher torque at the wheel. therefor 4.4 sec is very realistic.
 
I think Elon wanted this announcement to be his "Macbook Air in a manila envelope" surprise for everyone. It's possible that they weren't sure they could deliver the Sport at launch until the last minute..

They just didn't want it to appear here! :wink:

The PEM is pretty small and cylindrical. I commented on this to one of the engineers, and asked how the boards were arranged inside. He said that was proprietary; all he would say is that the PEM was liquid cooled. I suppose that would be one of the reasons for the compact size; liquid cooling would minimize the size of the heat sinks.

I was also told that the liquid cooled PEM was going to be much more efficient during charging and balancing cabin climate (HVAC) needs.

I think I'm actually learning more by reading this forum than by attending the event. Some people seem to have much better luck extracting information than I did. They either tried harder or just happened to talk to the right guy!

Ditto. But there was just so much to absorb!
 
I spoke with the PEM manager who was standing next to the frame with the flat battery pack near the entrance. He said there are two coolant lines (one for PEM/motor and one for HVAC). I believe I understood him correctly.
 
The PEM is pretty small and cylindrical. I commented on this to one of the engineers, and asked how the boards were arranged inside. He said that was proprietary; all he would say is that the PEM was liquid cooled. I suppose that would be one of the reasons for the compact size; liquid cooling would minimize the size of the heat sinks.

This also helps with power transfer to the motor. They can use the casing as a ground.

My guess is that it has power FETs on the inside with a coolant tube through the middle that also acts as one of the motor electrical cables.
 
For me, it's magic to have the entire drive train located between the two wheels. With the batteries completely out of site under the floor, it's like nothing is making the car go! I can't wait to show it off to people unfamiliar with it.

I'm going to open the hood, point out that there's no engine, then I'm going to point out the lack of humps through the center of the car and the empty trunk. Then I'll take them for a ride at 0-60 in 4.5 secs! Woo-ha-ha!