dhrivnak
Active Member
I agree the BMW is a good looking car and a good size. But a Roadster with an open top is just so much fun.
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Next gen Roadster
- Thread starter dsm363
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- Future Tesla
Raffy.Roma
Rome (Italy)
Agree David. Tesla should simply replace the hard top in the pic in my previous post with an open top. IMO main thing is that the new Roadster will have 2 + 2 seats.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Raffy.Roma
Rome (Italy)
I think that anyway Tesla should produce a car like this to be competitive with other automakers. Maybe that it will not be next gen Roadster. I think that a car of this kind could be produced in the frame of Tesla Gen III like the BMW 4 series is actually a variant of the BMW 3 series. If such were the case it would be even better because maybe in 2016-2017 we could get it. Don't you think so?
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
We don't get the Gen3 until 2016-2017 so I don't expect to also get another variant of that in the same time frame. Maybe a few years after that.
Raffy.Roma
Rome (Italy)
It would be good also like this.
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@vfx
I like your pics (in particular the second pic). I would like a next gen Roadster like this.
dt-td
Member
PokerBroker
Member
What is it with the 2+2 talk? Then it would not be a roadster!!! That's an entirely different class if car.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
I think people are talking about a spiritual successor to the Roadster. It might not even be called Roadster (but rather Model R or something like that). If I recall correctly, when Elon invested in the Roadster, what he really wanted was something like the 911 (with the two small rear seats for his kids).
There's really two possibilities I see:
1) A whole line-up like the 911 (with a wide price range with a base price well below $100k)
2) A supercar (top of the line halo car with a $100k+ base tag)
Realistically, I think option 1 makes more business sense.
Raffy.Roma
Rome (Italy)
PokerBroker
Member
I doubt they'll have to tackle the million dollar plus McLaren to make a successful Roadster. I would imagine they hope to sell more than 375 of them. I do hope, however, they don't make the next gen Roadster "affordable" for the masses. I prefer it stay in Ferarri/Lamborghini/Porsche land.
I agree they shouldn't have to go after the $1 million price point. With two electric motors and a light car they could probably beat it for less than 1/5th that price easily. Their first effort got down to 3.7 seconds so not out of reach.
strider
Active Member
I think they need to stay in 911 price territory. Granted that's from 84-180k but I feel that there is a sweet spot of 911-price buyers Tesla could attract with a more comfortable car than the Roadster. People like me who need to be on conference calls while driving to and from work. Those folks who are slightly older... slightly rounder... those are the ones w/ money to spend.
I'm with Strider on every point (including being older and rounder!).
Tesla is still a small company, and putting a ton of resources into a car with very limited sales does not make sense. Trying to be the all-time fastest (like beating 2.8 in 0-60) or whatever superlative metric is no longer essential, and may not be a very good investment of time and resources. We know that Tesla understands the incredible power of parts commonality and product-line extension, so I'd suggest that attacking the 911 line of cars (from the basic Carrera to the fire-breathing Twin Turbo) should be the goal: build a line of cars based on the same chassis and shape, but at different levels of performance/trim/price to maximize the size of the target market. And definitely, make sure that some of those variants are convertibles!!!
And yes, I would solidly choose a 2+2 over a pure two-seat Roadster... I think the sales gained by having the minimal back seat and some trunk space will far outweigh the sales lost to purists who demand a two-seat car. We want to compete with Porsche, who sells 100K cars a year, and not with Ferrari who sells less than 10K cars a year.
Note that, as long as the product-line variety I suggested above is met, perhaps one of those variants could be a very light, very powerful two-seat roadster for those people who do actively want to compete with Ferrari and who want a "halo car". Nothing wrong with that... but by no means should that car be the only one in the next-gen roadster line.
Tesla is still a small company, and putting a ton of resources into a car with very limited sales does not make sense. Trying to be the all-time fastest (like beating 2.8 in 0-60) or whatever superlative metric is no longer essential, and may not be a very good investment of time and resources. We know that Tesla understands the incredible power of parts commonality and product-line extension, so I'd suggest that attacking the 911 line of cars (from the basic Carrera to the fire-breathing Twin Turbo) should be the goal: build a line of cars based on the same chassis and shape, but at different levels of performance/trim/price to maximize the size of the target market. And definitely, make sure that some of those variants are convertibles!!!
And yes, I would solidly choose a 2+2 over a pure two-seat Roadster... I think the sales gained by having the minimal back seat and some trunk space will far outweigh the sales lost to purists who demand a two-seat car. We want to compete with Porsche, who sells 100K cars a year, and not with Ferrari who sells less than 10K cars a year.
Note that, as long as the product-line variety I suggested above is met, perhaps one of those variants could be a very light, very powerful two-seat roadster for those people who do actively want to compete with Ferrari and who want a "halo car". Nothing wrong with that... but by no means should that car be the only one in the next-gen roadster line.
I agree. The Roadster is great but a very limited market. Even at that very high price point there are people willing to spend that kind of money if the car can be semi-practical on a daily basis. I know many people use the Roadster as a daily driver (I did for 2 years) but many people won't even consider buying something like a Roadster. A 2+2 that tears up the road would have a broader appeal.
PokerBroker
Member
Well a "Roadster" has been since 1916, by the Society of Automobile Engineers, defined as an open car with a single row if seating for two (or three) people... Making a 2+2 sadly would no longer be a Roadster but some other type of sportscar.
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