Tesla's 4-door, all-electric Model S sports sedan gets pictured
By Darren Murph 
posted Oct 24th 2008 11:28PM
posted Oct 24th 2008 11:28PM
Read - Road & Track writeup
Read - Sneak peek of the rear
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oh snap, you guys beat autoblog to the punch!!!
that thing looks awesome.. but kind of nissan-ish, not something i would have expected from captain nagare from mazda
is this for real? or is this a speculatory rendering? because i think thats a 3d model and not a photo
no i think its a photo with some editing. Look at the 2nd read link, shows a real pic of the back.
that picture is a real photo for sure..... but the front 3/4 picture isn't necessarily a press photo from tesla, its a rendering from road&track.
i stand by my statement that this is a computer rendering
i've never seen anyone post so much in one topic in all my time on engadget
sorry?
id be on autoblog discussing this if they had posted the story.... at all
also, I'm really excited about this car...
Just so you guys know, in Australia and New Zealand at least, "fanny" means....um, well its not "but" like maybe it is up north, it means more like the C word for part of a woman. Theres an episode of The Simpsons where Marge says "...it has a starfish on the fanny!" about a bathing suit for Lisa......very weird, I cant believe that its not beeped out or SOMETHING here! It really means the C word here, you dont say that word on childrens TV!
I think the car is terribly ugly, have a look at any recent Audi/BMW etc etc, they are all miles ahead of this, that ugly baleen whale scoop in particular, but the headlights are like gouged out eyes! ugh.
@jaywontdart:
Yep, I suspect some non-Americans will be disappointed by that sneak peek of the fanny...
@jaywontdart. Just say vag dude. Seriously.
@Andrew
Or minge. That's another good option.
I love it when a company can make and sell less than 25 individual units of their first car then somehow have people excited when they announce their second model.
I will be excited when they build, perhaps, at least 1 per day.
yeah looks just like the 350z from the front....
This thing looks SICK.
how did i get low ranked for speculating this pic isnt a photo at all but a 3D model
i was right.
I know I'm gonna get yelled at for this...but why waste a car that looks that sexy with an electric powertrain, that sedan should have a high revving v-8
why waste gas when you can have a sexy car like that, high revving V8 power all without burning a drop of gas?
i'll take that cake and i'll be eating it, too, thanks
kinda makes you wonder what it sounds like when you step on the peddle?.........nothin much
yeah... i've heard the roadster drive by..... it sounds like tires rolling on asphalt.
not gonna lie, im gonna miss the sound of a revving engine if/when cars go all electric.
@ kellogs908
OK, first of all, electric motors have all their potential torque available right from the start line, no revving up required, unlike those stupid old-fashioned internal combustion engines. Also, electric motors are more reliable, cleaner, cheaper to run, and virtually silent. In other words, not stuck in the dark ages. I'm in favor of progress, how 'bout you?
@maveric101: I'm sure someone will build a little speaker dealy that makes engine sounds for when your driving.
And then people will start complaining about the noise and petition to have them banned.
:(
HOT DAMN that is SEX-AY!!!!
I can't wait for the future of all electrics but i have to admit it always throws me off when my friends Prius silently drives away. Its just not what were used to. I guess we'll have to learn to swoon over the sound of rubber on pavement which really is a cool sound especially the "sticky" sound of high performance tires...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXPCckjTMVg
If it ends up looking like that render, I think it'll be hideous. Too flashy and angular, and too many scoops and slashes. Looks a lot like a four-door Nissan GT-R which is one of the worst looking cars ever. Ugh.
That thing looks like a Z (not saying that as a negative). I would like to hear that car
I dunno, I think it looks more like a GT-R.
It looks hot. That's all that matters. If the eestor super-capacitor actually ends up being a real live product I think this is the future of cars. The ability to charge up in 10 minutes will make this completely practical.
I'm with the GT-R thought.
This is one of the best looking sedan's that I have ever seen.
Very nice looking car, with a bit of Nissan Z and Audi TT DNA. They did a great job and in fact I think this look better than their sports car.
Holy crap. I want one now.
Tesla is EVIL. I wouldn't want to buy that. They put together a team to build a car, then lay them off earlier.
Now a brand new sedan. WTF is this? This is sooooo irresponsible
@Tom
WTF??? really???? they laid off workers before making them build a car?
pretty sure the layoffs happened after.
also, whats wrong with trimming back their work force? they realized they had grown to quickly so they trimmed back before it became a huge issue. tesla is a tiny company who's trying to establish itself, they can't afford to start doubling, perhaps tripling their output if they don't have the financial backing to support that sort of production.with the state of the economy and the recent dispute they had with Fisker, their money supply was suddenly pulling out. drastic measure had to be made to save the company. go look it up before you start making accusations like that.
The REASON they're in such drastic straights is because they have screwed the pooch at every turn. It's absolutely no one's fault but their own. They fired 25% of their workforce and closed their R&D office completely. That is not a clever company, that is a DYING company.
No one is going to buy a $70,000 family sports sedan. There is not even a marketing category for such a car.
*orgasm*
*hands him a tissue*
your four minutes late thomas, get the handiwipes
Usually the 2 door looks better than the 4 door... but after this pic... screw coupe hello sedan....
Yes but unfortunately by experience I can tell you that the back seats in cars like these can only hold 4'2" anorexic models...
who cares as long as it lowers my insurance.
When you buy a 60K+ car, insurance don't really car what color or how many doors it has on it... You are going to $$$PAY$$$
@ ieye when have you ever seen a four-foot model?
Hello? Olsen twins?
As my first post in a few months, I would like to say:
DDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNNNNNN....
I like the fact that this TeslaN has no clearance whatsoever at the front fenders... This must have a turning circle of a quarter mile...
pretty sure this is a 3D model.... not a photo, which is why i'd like to know if this is the official design
This car appears to be a drawing/sketch in which case most drawings are made to make the car look a lot more aggressive than the production version ever has a chance of being...in fact one of the most common things to do is draw the car as if there is no or very little wheel well room just as you described
that picture is a real photo for sure..... but the front three quarter isn't necessarily a press photo from tesla, its a rendering from road and track. and also, i stand by my statement that this is a computer rendering
I would not care much if this is a photo or a 3D model. It looks sexy and that is good enough for me :D
except that a photo means that its the real car. a rendering could just be speculation
[dude] Jesus! [/dude]
Jesus Quintana? Fuckin' Quintana. That creep can roll, man. But I've been told he's a pederast.
WTF?!?!
eight year-olds, dude. eight year-olds...
Economics aside, this is what the Chevy Volt should have been.
the volt was meant to be a hybrid, and cost 20k less
@Ugg - Actually the Volt was meant to be an all electric sports sedan like this one from Tesla. They were unable to pull off that feat in mass production, so they had to fall back to the hybrid technology that it uses today.
The Volt can take you on a cross-country trip. The Tesla can not.
Tell me how the Volt, with it's 40 mile range, is going to take you on a cross country trip? Luxembourg, maybe. It is not a hybrid. The gas motor in the Volt does not supply power to the drive train in any way, it simply charges the battery (but not completely) when you fall slightly out of it's limited range. To that end, the Volt sucks. No one is going to buy that thing. Why would you drive across the country anyway? It's still cheaper to fly. Just saying.
"Charles @ Oct 25th 2008 11:30PM
Tell me how the Volt, with it's 40 mile range, is going to take you on a cross country trip? Luxembourg, maybe."
It's exactly because you can run the gasoline engine to charge the battery that you can go across the country in a Volt. You can not do that in a Tesla because you can't charge it just anywhere.
"It is not a hybrid."
Wrongo. The Volt is most certainly a hybrid. It's a series hybrid. Or, you can call it an electric car with gasoline backup.
"The gas motor in the Volt does not supply power to the drive train in any way, it simply charges the battery (but not completely) when you fall slightly out of it's limited range."
Of course it does.
"To that end, the Volt sucks. No one is going to buy that thing. Why would you drive across the country anyway? It's still cheaper to fly. Just saying."
The Volt sucks.... really... you know what sucks? Driving somewhere and finding that you are stuck because you have no source of power. That's what you'll get with a Tesla, should you decide to take it on a long trip. Why drive across country? Because I can. That's why. I don't care how cheap flying is. Maybe I don't want to. But after dropping $60,000 to $100,000 plus on a Tesla it won't matter anyway because I won't have money left for a fucking plane ticket. Nobody is going to buy a Volt? How would you know that? I can tell you something I do know. As beautiful as it is, nobody but a wealthy person is going to buy a Tesla.
You can take that to the bank.
With a Volt all you need is a gasoline filling station which is STILL the only way to fuel a car which is readily available almost anywhere in the country. And, the Volt IS a hybrid. It's a series hybrid.
All electric , 240 miles nice
But.... 60,000 can buy me 3 low end hondas, or low mile hondas, that would probably last me the rest of my life
and that would be your legacy...
I think a lot of people forget that electric vehicles are not as eco friendly as they first appear, how do you think we get that electricity, last I checked most of our electricity is still produced from burning coall so if you think its helping the environment think again, and well I am not sure how much one of these costs to recharge but it will raise your electric bill quite a bit if you didn't think or that one, I'd rather have an engine that makes noise, I am all for alternative ways to power cars, in fact if electric does become more feasible, and by that I mean cheaper, being able to hold charge better and have the ability to be faster than combustion engines then I will be all over electric cars. As far as racing goes drivers will be able to focus on the sound of the tires versus the engine, which could be a great advantage, but don't fool yourself into thinking they are the end all solution just yet, and that they wont cost a dime to run, or that they don't do just as much harm on the environment as a so called gas guzzling sports car
yes we get lot of fuel from coal.. but we dont have a lot of choice in that matter, unless you buy some solar panels/wind turbines for your estate. so everyone can do their part in supporting this kind of technology and put the pressure on the oile/energy companies to supply us with the power source we require.so it would be quite ecologically irrisponsible to say that supporting this alternative power sources because of the current state of things. advancement is advancement, and every little bit helps.
Yes, exactly. Owning a big block Muscle car does not mean I pollute the environment, because most of the time it just sits in the driveway, I don't really need to drive it, just to know that I have a real mans mans car and not one of those suped-up, wussy cheerleader cookie selling whale kissing moon maiden compacts, makes me feel content...
Actually there has been a recent article that explains that those big gas guzzlers are way more environmentally friendly than those sub-compacts, because after a few years, sub-compacst get scrapped,
as opposed to a big Le-Mans sport or caddilac what have you, that will get passed on throught the years, even re-sold multiple times...
For example, someone a few houses down still drives a 1986 Volvo wagon... as opposed to the person who bought that kia and scrapped it when the lease was finished 3 years later...
You just cannot break those old motors or transmissions...
Well, take a gaze over at Engadget's recent article on the planned recharging system in Australia... if you have a look at the read links there, it will be powered completely by renewable energy!
I certainly hope they mean it when they say that.
wow my last sentence made no sense at all.... what i meant to say was that it would be irresponsible not to support these alternative power sources just because of the current state of things (i.e. current source of electricity)
@iEye
that makes no sense. just because some big cars stick around while many small cars get trashed doesn't mean they're more environmentally friendly.... sure their engines and transmissions are still around and.or continually repaired keeping these cars on the road, but an old caddy cant hold a candle to my 2000 integra in terms of efficiency or emissions... let alone a brand new pzev civic or prius.
besides, its the buyers decisions while owning the car that dictate how long it stays on the road. i'm pretty sure that if i keep my integra maintained it will ALWAYS be more efficient than the most well kept GTO or 4-4-2 or what have you
theres a reason why Japanese law requires that you either replace your car or replace its power train after so many years. automotive technology is only getting better... even the koreans!!!! (try not to die of shock....)
just so you know
making electricity is a lot less polluting than burning gasoline.
so yes.
it is better.
WOWZERZ!
This or the 370Z? By the time both of these cars come out, I will be ready to buy my next car.
absolutely beautiful. Send me one tomorrow.
smexyful
isnt 0 to 60 in under 6 secs kinda... slow?
i thought Tesla could easily make it 5 secs or below seeing how the coupe is super fast!
not especially, thats about on par with other rwd V8 sedans....
keep in mind the roadster is based on the super small and super light elise. lighter improves performance AND efficiency.
which means it can get its 250 mile range AND great performance from a smaller motor.
0-60 in six seconds is very quick
15 comments + 1 post = thomas
I think you just won a cookie!
woohoo!
That's epic.
my pants .... so so very tight .... all messy ..... OH MAI GODZZZ!!!! ..... he he he
If I had 60K to drop on a new car, I wouldn't really care what the price of gas is..right??
No, but if you have children you will go for an electric car because you want to show them you can keep the environment clean for their future and such BS
By the time this thing hits real life.. it will probably look more like a prius or volt.. :(
lets give them the benefit of the doubt...... the tesla roadster is no compromise.
@Thomas
I think we need to find you something better to do on a Friday night. Unplug and go find yourself a (hand)job or something, geez...
yeeeaaaahhhh... i'm bored.
but i'll see if my GF can do something about that.
Given that the pic is a photoshopped Nissan, yeah, I'd say it isn't the final look.
Front end reminds me alot of Nissan's new GT-R. Not so much the Audi TT as someone else pointed out though. The rear looks more like Infiniti.
this is an outstanding breakthrough considering it can do 240 miles per charge. the price is ok too since it is yet new. but its this development only for the industrialised nations. how can developing nations benefit from this. i mean the charging stations
Looks nice but electric?. Ill take a 4.0 quad cam V8 instead. In fact make that a 6.0.
On this side of the pond, "fanny" has a different meaning....
Nice and the volt is ugly!
what?!?!
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/21/driven-2009-tesla-roadster-v1-5/
Tesla will be very lucky to produce a single car....their financial situation is dire....very sad.......
what!???!
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/21/driven-2009-tesla-roadster-v1-5/
Is there any use for the shark mouth "air intake" thing? On an electric car? I'd like to know.
I'd be more excited by an affordable EV sedan with 0 - 60 in 9 secs or even 10. btw with all the ample torque that electric motors have, EV's are not slowed down much by extra weight such as naked ladies and the many suitcases holding their wardrobes.
Yes. The wind tunnel is a strict master. Prius cD 0.26; Audi TT 0.33. Is not the Prius thereby more elegant? or at least it accomplishes its task with less flailing and floundering and gratuitous air-disturbance and compensatory unnecessary burning of gasoline? [could only find a TT cD from the '90's. Nascar car cD 0.30 fwiw] the lower the better.you morons. A Boeing 747's cD is ridiculously low like........ darn I just forgot. very very low, OK?
Concentrate on the shape of ladies, gentlemen. Let the wind tunnel sculpt the cars. Unless you're just going to only admire them like a static work of art in your personal museum errrrr, driveway.
Sports cars are designed as a compromise between drag and stability/downforce. A lower coefficient of drag has undesirable side effects in a car.
Formula 1 race cars have a CoD between 0.7 and 1.1 (depending on how the airfoils are adjusted for the track) because they need downforce for stability. Solar race cars have a coefficient of drag of 0.11 to 0.13, but a passing truck can (and has) blown them off the road!
If a Prius was given a sports car engine, it too would probably blow off the road! There's a reason why a Corvette has a worst CoD than a Mazda 6 sedan, its a conscious design decision.
electric motors generate heat too, so yes, they also need to be cooled.
also, just because a car has a lower Cd doesnt mean it is more elegant. the Cd is no doubt effected by the design of a car, but it should no way dictate it. its the designers job to make a car desirable (sporty, tough, elegant, or aggressive) looking, its the engineer's job to make it work... which includes aerodynamics. the design of a car is a tug of war between the departments. dont confuse the 2.
the prius WAS designed in the wind tunnel. (thats why the insight has the same profile) and neither is by any means a beautiful car..... aesthetically. theres much more to car design than aerodynamics.
I would've thought that the return of $60/barrel of crude would end this nonsense about all electric cars. I don't know really what people see in Tesla. Is it the design (I can see that), is the performance (not for that amount of money), or is it the fact that it's all electric? There's a certain geek appeal to driving an electric car, but the environmental aspect of it just doesn't make sense. Let's not forget that 40% of America's power grid is run off of coal. And don't tell me it's because you save money at the pump. IMO, I'd rather spend 60k on a GT-R.
$40K for a Volt - a glorified Chevy Cobalt hybrid with a 40 mile range, or
$60K for this gorgeous piece of machinery?
Not a hard question to answer.
Yeah. All I need is twenty thousand MORE of what I already don't have for a car that can't take me to any of my trips out of state.