Modern cars lose around 12% to 17% of the engine's power through the gearbox, differentials, axles and whatnot. The percentage is higher for automatic gearboxes, and lower for manuals. However, some cars don`t have actual gearboxes, at all, and they are all the better for it.
The all-electric Tesla Model S does away with the gearbox, and the result is a lot more of the engine's power going to the rear wheels. The Model S was recently put on the dyne by Dragtimes, and what they found was highly-impressive.
The car is rated at 416 hp when it leaves the factory, so with a loss of 15%, the figure would drop to around 355 hp. However, the dyne test revealed that, in fact, the Tesla puts down a lot of its power - 386 hp, to be precise, which is a very good achievement for a production car (less than 10% loss).
The simplicity of the electric drivetrain is an advantage here, as it does`t have to move all sorts of pulleys and gears around, sapping precious horsepower in the process. This is why the Model S, which is a heavy car by regular car standards, can sprint from 0-100 km/h or 0-62 mph in 4.4 seconds, which is exactly the same as the BMW F10 M5, which has a twin-turbocharged V8 engine with 560 hp. As always, the Model S continues to impress...
The car is rated at 416 hp when it leaves the factory, so with a loss of 15%, the figure would drop to around 355 hp. However, the dyne test revealed that, in fact, the Tesla puts down a lot of its power - 386 hp, to be precise, which is a very good achievement for a production car (less than 10% loss).
The simplicity of the electric drivetrain is an advantage here, as it does`t have to move all sorts of pulleys and gears around, sapping precious horsepower in the process. This is why the Model S, which is a heavy car by regular car standards, can sprint from 0-100 km/h or 0-62 mph in 4.4 seconds, which is exactly the same as the BMW F10 M5, which has a twin-turbocharged V8 engine with 560 hp. As always, the Model S continues to impress...
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