The Story
With a second-generation Tesla Roadster finally on the horizon, we revisit the fascinating original that sparked what is now one of the world’s largest car manufacturers.
Punchy straight-line pace, tidy handling, direct steeringLimited range, high price (both when new, and today)Tesla hasn’t always been the near-£1 trillion powerhouse it is today, as back in the late 2000s it had just one model on its roster: the first-generation Roadster. Given it was the marque’s very first car and one of the very first electric sports cars to make it to market, it was a fascinating prospect to us, so we spent plenty of time getting to know it.
The long (long) -awaited second-generation Roadster will no doubt be built in one of Tesla’s numerous town-sized ‘Gigafactories’, but the same couldn’t be said for the original. Manufactured in collaboration with Lotus, final assembly for European cars was undertaken at the Lotus factory in Hethel, Norfolk.
It’s a somewhat modest offering on paper next to even an entry-level Tesla Model Y crossover of today, but the original Roadster was a surprisingly well-executed proof of concept. Being so radical, the production run was limited to around 2450 units, and one of those is currently orbiting the sun 50 million miles from Earth courtesy of a SpaceX test flight – just over 30 remain registered in the UK, and you won’t find one for less than its near-£100k list price.
The company had hoped its Roadster would hit the streets in 2007, but durability problems with the unique two-speed transmission units the car was originally going to use put a stop to that. In the end the two-speed unit had to be abandoned and replaced with a single-speed gearbox design that could be built in-house, alongside a bespoke 248bhp, 280lb ft, 14,000rpm electric motor.
The only problem then was figuring out how to meet the original performance targets without the two-speed ’box. The solution was to raise the maximum current released from the battery pack from 600 amps to 850, enabling a 0-60mph time of 3.9secs, an impressive figure for 2008 and nothing to be sniffed at even almost two decades on. Top speed stands at 125mph.
As is quite clear from its design, its basic underpinnings came from Britain in the form of the Lotus Elise. Tesla thoroughly reengineered the platform for this application though, lengthening the wheelbase by two inches to accommodate the 53kWh battery pack, redesigning the rear subframe, wishbones and strengthening the aluminium tub to handle the additional weight too.
These seem like bold performance claims, but having now driven a Tesla in anger, we can confirm that this car is laugh-out-loud fast. Think of an Elise into which someone has installed a 5-litre V8 equipped with the mother of all silencers and you’ll have some idea of what it is like to drive. It’s also surreal how no-one takes any notice of the car in traffic because of its silent progress and tiny dimensions.
That power pack is made up of 6831 lithium-ion cells that, according to Tesla’s senior vice president at the time Darryl Siry, cost around £11,000 to produce. One problem with this type of battery is that it only operates efficiently in a narrow temperature range, so energy has to be expended to keep its temperature constant.
The idea of charging it overnight (it takes eight hours to get a full charge from a domestic supply) at minimal cost for a claimed 220 miles of motoring is still massively appealing, though. Pity the car’s original £92,000 price tag meant only the wealthy will be able to benefit.
In 2009, John Barker put the Tesla Roadster head-to-head with the Lotus Elise SC to find out just how much stood between the two. 'The contrast is stark. Experimentation shows that the optimum start in the Elise involves dropping the clutch with the engine sitting at a thrashy 4500rpm. Then there’s a crunchy, rushed shift into second at 8000rpm (which handily goes to just over 60mph) and then, up around three figures, the Lotus finally starts to feel decisively the stronger of the two. The figures bear this out: the Elise manages a snappy 4.5 to 60 and 11.4 to 100. That’s chuffing quick.
However, when we line them up for a drag race for the camera and the pressure is on, there’s much less in it. Lotus makes an initial break but when you change gear the Tesla comes back and then seems hard to shake. Seats swapped, it’s amusing to be in the peaceful Tesla, hearing the gnashing of the Elise’s engine and the wailing of its tyres and having an easy time keeping up. It’s then that it dawns that not only does the Tesla deliver its full performance every time with negligible driver skill, but it’s also possible to use it when you like without attracting the attention high engine revs would.
Why It Matters
Driving the Elise feels like when you take a heavy rucksack off, and as well as having lighter steering and a greater feeling of nimbleness, the Lotus also has a light and snappy gearshift that’s a delight to use.
CarMotion Daily’s Take
The long (long) -awaited second-generation Roadster will no doubt be built in one of Tesla’s numerous town-sized ‘Gigafactories’, but the same couldn’t be said for the original. Watch this space over the coming weeks. Markets rarely reward single announcements — execution over the next two to four quarters is what closes the gap between press release and customer. How this lands depends less on the announcement itself and more on the rollout, dealer support, and after-sales story behind it. Specifics on pricing, availability, and regional rollout will tell us whether this moves from headline to delivery. Independent verification and follow-up coverage from rival outlets tend to firm up the picture within days.
📝 Source & Copyright Notice
This story was first reported by Evo-GN. For the full article with original photography and complete coverage, visit the source: Read the full story at Evo-GN →
