Filed under: Sports/GTs, Green


Jeremy Clarkson finally got his chance to thrash a Tesla Roadster on the Top Gear test track during the most recent episode and things definitely went better than his time with the G-Wiz. Clarkson pitted the Tesla against its chassis progenitor, the Lotus Elise and the results were... mixed. The Roadster, with the new drivetrain 1.5 featuring the final version of the single speed gearbox and torquier motor, ran away from the Elise in a drag race. However, when it came to going around corners, the extra 1,000 lbs of lithium ion batteries didn't help. As good as the Tesla handles, weight is always the enemy and the Lotus easily beat the Roadster around the corners. On the straights though, the electric torque won the day, for a while anyway.

As we all know, the range of electric cars depends on driving style and the EPA cycle doesn't evaluate a car like the Roadster the way it's meant to be driven. When we tested the Roadster last January, we estimated the range on our drive to be about 120-130 miles. Clarkson managed to exceed the G-Wiz's 40 mile range, but not by much. He got a mere 55 miles before the battery was flat. See it all in the video after the jump.

Gallery: First Drive: Tesla Roadster


[Source: YouTube]Continue reading VIDEO: Jezza and the Stig take on the Tesla Roadster, for 55 miles!
VIDEO: Jezza and the Stig take on the Tesla Roadster, for 55 miles! originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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