Quiet Riot
April 1, 2008
Meanwhile, the front hood houses a set of fans integral to the liquid-hydrogen-based battery cooling system. And that’s pretty much it, other than a compact, single-speed transmission that actually does have a bit of a story with it.
Initially, the Tesla was advertised as featuring a two-speed transmission. Its first gear would deliver a much-ballyhooed zero-to-60-mph time of four seconds. Second gear would take the driver to about 130 mph, all with the pancake-flat torque curve that makes electric vehicles feel like impossible-to-catch sprinters compared to most gasoline-powered vehicles, which take time to spool up to speed.
But the two-speed, clutched approach proved problematic, slightly delaying production. So Tesla Motors decided to pursue a single speed transmission that will use a larger motor—producing north of 300 hp versus the original promise of 250 hp—that can indeed hit 60 mph in four seconds. "It’ll be a simpler, more reliable system that will still deliver the promised results," says Platshon, adding that this version of the Tesla will come down the production line later this year.
In the meantime, customers will receive exactly what is lurking before us today (with the upgrade provided later free of charge): a two-speed shifter that currently offers only one speed, whose 250 hp unit will only take the car to 60 mph in around 5.5 seconds. But it’ll do. Time to stop talking and drive.
Turning the key produces nothing, of course. Which is perhaps the biggest, if only, hurdle for most car fanatics’ brains to overcome, hardwired as they are to expect some sort of sound to follow ignition. Foot on the accelerator. Sacrilegious at it may sound to the good folks at Tesla, the next sound recalls the same metallic whine that comes when you stomp on a golf cart’s accelerator. Soon, however, that noise is replaced by the resonance of rubber ripping up the road. And, smaller engine aside, rip it does.
The Marin Headlands and its neighboring roads that snake to the top of nearby Mount Tamalpais are wonderfully sinuous, with barely a straightaway for miles. The Tesla devours these bends at a surging clip. Trying hard to upset the rear end (the car has a 65 percent rear weight bias) proves almost impossible, with the Tesla’s wide track and low center of gravity helping lay down virtual rails in all but the sharpest curves.
From the inside, the view is largely Elise: tachometer and speedometer dead ahead; leather-covered seats with minimal adjustment options; removable roof panel. Simple, elegant, and zero frills. This is decidedly a driver’s chariot, and not something—with its firm suspension and low sill height—you’d want to climb in and out of many times a day.
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