The world has been waiting for a practical and easily usable and good to drive electric car and it could be that the first of these new generation electric vehicles will be available very soon. Tesla Motors, the San Carlos, California electric car developer has begun taking orders for it's new Model Sl electric family sedan that can carry up to seven people with a range of up to 300 miles per charge.
The Model S, has an inbuilt charger enabling it to be recharged from any 120V, 240V or 480V outlet, and using the 480V supply will be capable of recharging in only 45 minutes. This is a big improvement on some of the small electric vehicles we have previously seen that could need to be charged overnight to top up their batteries.
This allows the possibility of recharging your car when you stop for a meal and a break and it is claimed this can mean a driver can drive from LA to New York and it will take much the same time as you might expect using a gasoline car.
Another interesting idea is to have a swap out power pack and the floor-mounted battery pack is designed to be removed and replaced with a fresh fully charged pack in less time than it takes to fill a gas tank. This gives us the option of battery-pack swap 'gas' stations where you would drive in, get a fresh battery pack installed, and continue with your journey.
Having this floor-mounted powertrain has other benefits too. There is unparalleled cargo room and versatility, as the volume under the front hood becomes a second trunk. Combining that with a four-bar linkage hatchback rear trunk and flat folding rear seats, the Model S can accommodate a 50-inch television, mountain bike *and* surfboard simultaneously. This packaging efficiency gives the Model S more trunk space than any other sedan on the market and more than most SUVs.
The Model S has been planned and designed to be a real useable car with few compromises and offers both performance and efficiency. It is a practical design that does everything most people want from a car and all the reports are it does it well.
Production of the Tesla Model S is expected to start in late 2011 and the company believes it is close to receiving up to $350 million in federal loans to build the Model S assembly plant in California with the loans coming from the Dept of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program.
Building on Proven Technology
Tesla is the only production automaker which is already selling highway-capable EVs in North America and Europe. With performance figures of 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds, their Roadster outperforms the majority of other sports cars in its class yet it is six times as energy efficient as gas guzzlers and delivers 244 miles per charge. Tesla reports it has delivered nearly 300 Roadsters, and nearly 1,000 more customers are on the waiting list.
One benefit of electric vehicles is that they require far less maintenance than a gas powered car does so Teslas do not require routine oil changes, have far fewer moving (and breakable) parts than internal combustion engine vehicles. They also qualify for federal and state tax credits, rebates, sales tax exemptions, free parking, commuter-lane passes and other perks. Model S costs roughly $5 to drive 230 miles – a bargain even if gasoline were $1 per gallon.
Tesla Model S - rear view
The base price of the Model S is expected to be around $49,900 after a federal tax credit of $7,500. and there will be three different battery pack options which will offer either a range of 160, 230 or 300 miles per charge depending which one you go for.
The standard Model S should have a 0-60 mph time of under six seconds and will have an electronically limited top speed of 130 mph. Sport versions are expected to achieve that 0-60 mph acceleration well below five seconds.
Tesla is taking reservations online and at showrooms in California. Tesla will open a store in Chicago this spring and plans to open stores in London, New York, Miami, Seattle, Washington DC and Munich later this year.
Find out more about the new car and the company at Tesla Motors
Posted under Cars
This post was written by Wally on March 28, 2009
