January 29, 2008 A Sports Car for the Green

04:29pm by Cheechoo (Cars)

The Tesla Roadster will be the world’s first performance-purposed vehicle for the common tree-hugger. The chassis and suspension of the car was designed by Lotus Cars, which is proof on paper that the car will handle like it’s on rails. The kicker, however, is that the car is 100% electric, powered only by its 90% efficient electric motor, sapping energy from a huge 900+ pound lithium-ion battery.

“What a heavy battery!” You might say! Until you look at the car’s curb weight, a miniscule 2700 lbs, lighter than today’s compact cars such as the Honda Civic and the Toyota Matrix. Its fully-electric engine makes 248 horsepower at a whopping 13,000 rpm, bringing the car from 0-60 in under 4 seconds.

The car already has a long list of buyers on wait, and has sold out its entire 2008 production. The first cars will be delivered in the ensuing months. Priced at around $100,000, you might think you’re not getting your bang for the buck with only 248 horsepower. But the same can be said for Lotus’ other products, like the Exige S, which has already been proven to be an agile beast.

I will be very interested to see if this company will shake up the auto industry, with their future plans to build a luxury family vehicle followed by an entry-level compact (I can’t wait for that one!).

Naysayers, skeptics, and those on the payroll of oil companies will tell you that you’re just transferring pollution from your car to power plants. Well, they’ll be selling most of their cars in California, where only 16% of their energy comes from coal, and that number will be dropping dramatically in the coming years because of gigantic solar fields currently being built in the Mojave.

Those of you with money, a penchant for performance cars, and a love for uniqueness, go order one!

Photos from rsportscars.com