Photo: Tesla Motors
Back in 2007 when the Tesla Roadster became the world's first production electric sports car, few people besides Elon Musk believed this company would become so successful in such a relatively short time, and yet it did.
Tesla's major hurdle still lies ahead, but at the moment it looks like the biggest problem it faces is it's inability to meet demand. And how many other manufacturers can brag about having the same issue? However, should it all collapse somehow, it would definitely be the biggest business flop this industry has ever seen.
Until that happens, though, Tesla is busy penning its future, and even though it all seems to gravitate around next year's Model 3 production start, the company is also looking further ahead. And you'd be very glad to hear that that means a new replacement for the discontinued Roadster. As Musk has said on so many occasions, that first model's task was to show people electric can be fast, and it can be fun, so once the Model S came along, it was no longer needed.
With so many other companies announcing sporty EVs lately, Tesla needs to stay one step ahead if it wants to make use of its pioneering of this segment, so a replacement for the Roadster is being considered. In fact, it's being more than that since, apparently, some insiders already know a few things about it other than the simple fact it's going to exist.
The original Roadster was developed together with Lotus, an obvious choice since one of the main goals was to try and keep the car's weight as low as possible, and the British company is a lightweight specialist. Roughly 2,500 cars were made during the four years it was on the market, and it gave the company the impetus to go on and develop its second model.
Its spiritual successor appears to be somewhat different if Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen's comments are to be believed. Peter is Tesla's Nordic Countries Manager and he was speaking at an electronics trade fair in Gothenburg, Sweden. Quoted by Swedish website IDG, he said, “We would have loved to build more [Roadsters], but if no one other than you would be listening right now, then I’d probably tell you that we will manufacture it again. It will look a little different, a little faster and a little bigger.”
The new car, whatever it's going to be called - Model R? (as in SEXYeR), will share the same platform as the Model 3, so it being bigger isn't a surprise. Nor is it that it's going to be faster: to deserve the "sports car" label, it'll have to at least be quicker than the company's SUV, which the Roadster wasn't. As for design, the original two-seater was built around the Lotus Elise chassis and bodywork, so Tesla didn't have all that much design freedom. Now that it's got a clear brand identity, the new car will adhere to it making it, so while it will look different from the old Roadster, it will probably be much more similar to the newer models.
Until that happens, though, Tesla is busy penning its future, and even though it all seems to gravitate around next year's Model 3 production start, the company is also looking further ahead. And you'd be very glad to hear that that means a new replacement for the discontinued Roadster. As Musk has said on so many occasions, that first model's task was to show people electric can be fast, and it can be fun, so once the Model S came along, it was no longer needed.
With so many other companies announcing sporty EVs lately, Tesla needs to stay one step ahead if it wants to make use of its pioneering of this segment, so a replacement for the Roadster is being considered. In fact, it's being more than that since, apparently, some insiders already know a few things about it other than the simple fact it's going to exist.
The original Roadster was developed together with Lotus, an obvious choice since one of the main goals was to try and keep the car's weight as low as possible, and the British company is a lightweight specialist. Roughly 2,500 cars were made during the four years it was on the market, and it gave the company the impetus to go on and develop its second model.
Its spiritual successor appears to be somewhat different if Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen's comments are to be believed. Peter is Tesla's Nordic Countries Manager and he was speaking at an electronics trade fair in Gothenburg, Sweden. Quoted by Swedish website IDG, he said, “We would have loved to build more [Roadsters], but if no one other than you would be listening right now, then I’d probably tell you that we will manufacture it again. It will look a little different, a little faster and a little bigger.”
The new car, whatever it's going to be called - Model R? (as in SEXYeR), will share the same platform as the Model 3, so it being bigger isn't a surprise. Nor is it that it's going to be faster: to deserve the "sports car" label, it'll have to at least be quicker than the company's SUV, which the Roadster wasn't. As for design, the original two-seater was built around the Lotus Elise chassis and bodywork, so Tesla didn't have all that much design freedom. Now that it's got a clear brand identity, the new car will adhere to it making it, so while it will look different from the old Roadster, it will probably be much more similar to the newer models.
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