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UPDATE: Tesla Roadster Makes European Debut At Grand Basel
12 H BY ERIC LOVEDAY 43
In a sleek white finish, the new Tesla Roadster made its European debut with much fanfare at Grand Basel.
The show, held in Switzerland, technically opens to the public on September 6, but it seems some individuals are already inside taking shots of the white, next-generation Roadster.
***UPDATE: Gallery added at bottom of post.
More Roadster News
Check it out below:
Hi Elon congrats on the presentation of the white Roadster at Grand Basel. Here are some pics. I filmed your press conference in Frankfurt back in 2009 when you delivered the 700th roadster and look where you are now: over 200’000 cars. So pride of you!! Siggy pic.twitter.com/bEEPHlEtGG
— SПQ (@SQ32280872) September 4, 2018
Touching the next-gen @Tesla Roadster for the first time at the @grandbasel exhibition. Exterieur only. pic.twitter.com/9THWR35hLo
— Hauke Schrieber (@haukeschrieber) September 4, 2018
Last week, Tesla sent out invitations to this debut. The invites contained just a teaser, but it was clear even then that it would be the Roadster on display at Grand Basel.
Surely, Europe will enjoy this gem of an electric car, though it’s not hitting the market anytime soon.
Regardless, it’s still a masterpiece of machinery. In fact, it’s so impressive that it frustrates supercar maker Koenigsegg.
New Tesla Roadster specs include:
- 7,376 pound-feet of torque
- 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds
- 0-100 mph in 4.2 seconds
- Quarter mile in 8.8 seconds
- 250+ mph top speed
- 620 miles of highway range
5 photos
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43 Comments on "UPDATE: Tesla Roadster Makes European Debut At Grand Basel"
whoever stuck that ugly wiper needs to be fired asap. It ruins the beauty of the car
Looks like they had some spare Semi windshield wipers laying around.
Whoever stuck that wiper on the car needs to be fired. It ruins the lines of the car
Easy solution:
They could improve the window with some nano coating and the wind would do the rest when driving high speed, and in city you just need to, tre fan blowing (Dyson style) hidden beneath the front window blowing away the raindrops!
“They could improve the window with some nano coating and the wind would do the rest”
In the Ghetto here, we call that “Rain-X”.
Heavy duty wipers for 250 mph.
Maybe you can request a set of delicate wipers if you limit your top end to 101.
jumbo jet grade wipers
Mark my words – That man’s knees will not be comfy up in that roadster.
……and you must have sat in one already?
Or are you just spewing stupid FUD?
Given that both Franz and Elon are big buggers I doubt there’s much concern in that department. Nice try though! 😀
You’ve seen the designer, who is 6’1″ driving it with Jay Leno, so stop lying so much or find another site to FUD over.
Looks true to current Tesla style. Wonder if that be enough for customers of exotic cars, as they have been getting edgier, whereas this goes a very different direction.
That torque rating is likely post gearing (i.e. 7,376 @ 9:1–> ~ 820 at the motor). That’s a bit deceptive. My F-150 has about 27,000 ft-lbs after gearing (1st gear, 4-LO), but no one would ever advertise those specs.
In the end I’d rather see them put the energy into a pickup. That would also be much more in-line with the “save the environment” mission than replacing a few hundred exotic cars.
“In the end I’d rather see them put the energy into a pickup.”
Yup, totally agree.
A pick-up is a reasonable, practical choice, the best selling vehicle in the US, and is inevitable. The roadster represents the cutting edge of performance and technology in a driver’s vehicle. Auto companies have always used racing and performance vehicles as the test bed and as a vision into the future. A pick-up while being highly desirable and something everyone wants, does not hold nearly the cachet of building a car that out performs every other car currently available. 1.9 to 60 – 600 miles range – ah yeah….
The top pickup models are the best selling vehicles in the US; but the total share of this form factor is (thankfully) still just a fraction of the total market.
Tesla can walk and chew gum simultaneously.
What do the new roadster and the semi have in common? Basically these are fairly small run vehicles, and come off slow lines with lots of manual work. The model S and model X are like that as well. These are lines that don’t chew up as many resources as, say, the Model 3 or the expected Model Y and pickup lines. They are, however, big profit generators, at about $200,000 for both the roadster and semi vehicles. Thus its not a bad strategy to run these lines in addition to their “normal” cars.
This is not significantly different from what say, GM does. Walk into a GM dealer, there is usually a high end vette sitting in the front window, complete with a heart-jolting sticker price ($133,895 for a corvette ZR1, I just checked). That car is clearly not coming off a high speed production line.
As I have said before, everyone and their dog seem to want to give Tesla management advice. Settle down and look at what they are doing. It makes a lot of sense.
First of all, Elon made it pretty clear that the Roadster is a fairly low-priority project.
Regarding their mission, I’m actually no so sure. Tesla has limited resources. Creating a car that gets everyone excited has a far-reaching effect in spurning on *other* car makers, and thus could do more for overall availability of attractive EVs than a single more practical model from Tesla itself…
BTW, I’m not convinced there is really a big market for EV pickups in the near future. My suspicion is that the people clamouring for it are just a vocal minority.
Is that a shell, or a second working prototype?
shell
Lego
Origami
Hologram
Twits
They are making all these Debuts all over the place, and no one asks to see the inside or ask any questions?
There is nothing that can touch this car. Ferrari is working on a super car concept but it is just an idea this point. With the prototype making the rounds now it should only be a couple of more years before we see a T Roadster hit the streets for purchase. Stunning stunning stuff – watch out.
Except ofcause the Rimac Concept Two
This particular car appears to be a non-functional shell.
How can *you* tell “7Electric Toothbrushes” since you’ve never even sat in an EV.😄
I’d rather see a torque figure that can be compared with other cars.
I don’t think that’s even possible with EVs… AIUI, the torque figure for combustion engines is used as a rough indicator how much power the engine can deliver before it has a chance to rev up — a problem that electric motors do not generally have to begin with.
I’d take it even with that odd wiper. It’s what’s on the inside that really counts and Tesla has it more than any car in history. Congratulations to Tesla.
Yeah the original Tesla Roadster (Lotus Elise) had only one large wiper, with a wussy spring that wouldn’t properly clean the windshield. How did Lotus manage to screw that up? Unless the ‘Roadster’ got a different ‘more curved’ wind screen.
I had a Lotus Elise (fairly cheap in Norway due to low weight and small engine) and the wiper was no good.
The dealer sold it with a wiper package, with a S2 wiper arm, a bottle of RainX, and a different wiper blade that followed the shape of the windscreen much better. Worked well.
First thing I notices is that chrome T on the hood. Needs to be black so its prominent and visible along with the T E S L A on the rear. I would have made them black before they showcased this car there.
‘Regardless, it’s still a masterpiece of machinery. In fact, it’s so impressive that it frustrates supercar maker Koenigsegg’
A discerning eye would see the front end is one piece (i.e. concept car / nascar shell).
All the roadster states are based on UNCONFIRMED specifications provided by Tesla with ZERO supporting information. It could be a base Model 3 platform/drivetrain underneath that non-production shell.
Tesla / Elon gets TONS of good-will / benefit of the doubt without having to provide independently verified information. Next time Elon goes into a rage about the main-stream media treating Tesla unfairly, remember for Elon Bad Press = Non-Believers
Because Tesla has a long track record of DELIVERING, late, but actually with better specs then the initial concept.
Tesla = Always late + Better than advertised.
*meh*…where are the Model 3’s, that would have been really exciting! I’d even settle for a US version as long as it comes to a Tesla store near me.
Whoever said there’s not a bad angle on this car is 100% correct. Gorgeous all over.
Needs to be red.. like the pictures / renderings showed before. Some cars look nice in white. This looks better in red for sure.
Hi Eric,
Thanks for choosing my photo for your cover and posting my twitter message. I am happy I have been helpful!
Siggy,
http://www.drivesolar.net
Horrible black wheels