Inside the Tesla Roadster Sport

Tesla Roadster Sport
Tesla recently announced its Roadster Sport edition. To be succinct, the Sport powers from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds (.2 seconds faster than the base model), has a sweet HEMI muscle car like orange and black paint job, Yokohama performance tires, custom suspension, and blacked out rims.

So how do you get more juice out of an electric motor? You can’t add performance headers and intakes or any fun widgets like turbo and superchargers. So Tesla hand wound the wires that wrap around the stator to create more power. The stator is the stationary part of an electric generator or electric motor. The non-stationary part on an electric motor is the rotor. Here is a picture of a traditional rotor (left) and stator (right):
Stator and Rotor

Electromagnet

The stator is an electromagnet (see left), meaning when an electric current passes through it, the rotor is magnetically attracted to spin in a certain direction.  So if you hand spin the wires into the stator, you can pack more wires in, allowing more electrical current to pulse through each segment.  The more powerful current sequentially magnetizes each segment  and spins the attracted rotor faster.  Also, I’m not an electrical engineer so you can correct me in the comments section.

The Tesla Roadster is powered by a 3-phase, 4-pole electric motor, producing a maximum net power of 248 hp (185kW). The Sport Model, with its higher density, hand wound stator produces a maximum of 288 hp (215 kW). Both motors are designed for rotational speeds of up to 14,000rpm, and the regular motor delivers an efficiency of typically 90%, or 80% at peak power.  Couple this with Tesla’s new Powertrain 1.5, and you have one of the meanest electric machines ever produced.

Tesla Roadster Sport

Sources: Wikepedia: Stator, Tesla Motors, Jalopnik

Press Release:

Tesla Motors introduces Roadster Sport

SAN CARLOS, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Tesla Motors Inc. began taking orders today for the Roadster Sport, a high-performance sports car based on the world’s leading all-electric, zero-emission vehicle.

The Roadster Sport does 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, compared with 3.9 seconds for the standard Roadster. It comes with a hand-wound stator and increased winding density for lower resistance and higher peak torque. In addition to Yokohama’s Ultra High Performance tires, the Roadster Sport has improved suspension with adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars that will be tuned to the driver’s preference.

The Roadster Sport starts at $128,500 in the United States and €112,000 (excluding VAT) in Europe. Deliveries begin in late June.

“This car can beat nearly anything in its price class – yet it is twice as efficient as compact hybrid sedans,” said Michael van der Sande, Tesla’s senior vice president of global sales, service and marketing. “If you refuse to compromise on performance or the environment, the Roadster Sport is your only option.”

The Roadster Sport is the first derivative of Tesla’s proprietary, patented powertrain. San Carlos, Calif.-based Tesla plans to begin producing the all-electric, zero-emssion Model S five-passenger sedan in 2011.

Tesla has delivered more than 150 Roadsters to customers, and about 1,100 people are on the waiting list. Customers who haven’t taken delivery may upgrade to the Roadster Sport.

“The Roadster Sport embodies Tesla’s spirit of continuous improvement,” said CEO, Chairman and Product Architect Elon Musk. “The Roadster has been a great success, but no one at this company remains satisfied with the status quo.

Chrysler Continues Electric Push with 200C

Chrysler unveiled another electric car from its ENVI program at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Stylistically, it could be best compared to a Mercedes CLS. And really, for Chrysler, this is a great looking car. The 200c is a range extended electric vehicle, so the car will be a able to travel 40 miles with zero emissions before a 2-cylinder turbocharged (most likely) engine will kick in to recharge the batteries and extend the range to over 300 miles. Here is a video that gives you a good look at the car:

NYT Drives Ford’s Electric Prototype

Ford is finally making a concerted effort to enter the EV race. They recently announced an all-electric sedan scheduled to go on sale in 2011. It is likely to be based on the next-generation Ford Focus. The New York Times had the honor of driving the mule. In the video, the NYT columnist gets to drive the car and experience the smooth, quiet ride. Performance looks comparable to a traditional Ford Focus and they even pop the hood to show you how Ford set up the electric powertrain. Click here to see the video.

Source: Autobloggreen

Better Place Joins Forces with Subaru and Japan

Better Place announced today that it has joined Subaru and other Japanese carmakers to establish an electric-vehicle (EV) project in Japan. The press release is posted below.

Press Release

Monday, 08 Dec 2008
Better Place Joins Subaru, Other Japanese Carmakers In Ministry of Environment Electric Vehicle Project
Kiyotaka Fujii Named Head of Better Place Asia Pacific-Japan

Tokyo (Dec 08, 2008) — Better Place, the world’s leading mobility operator, today announced that it is joining Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., maker of Subaru automobiles, and other Japanese carmakers in the first Ministry of Environment, electric-vehicle (EV) project in Japan. Better Place, the only foreign company participating, was invited by the Japanese Ministry of Environment to build a battery exchange station for EVs and showcase the technology in the world’s biggest auto-manufacturing nation.

As carmakers here focus on the future and developing next-generation vehicles, the government’s project supports the move to sustainable transportation and includes various electric-car models and EV infrastructure in multiple cities to demonstrate feasibility. The EV project is scheduled to begin in January 2009 and last three to six months, encompassing municipalities in Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka, and Hyogo prefectures. Yokohama—a participating city in Kanagawa—will host the first location to demonstrate the ability to exchange a depleted EV battery for a fully charged one, a means of extending EV range under the Better Place model. Participation in the Japanese project is the latest example of the model’s growing acceptance around the world.

“Better Place is honored to participate in this ground-breaking program in a country with so much auto-manufacturing expertise and history,” said Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO of Better Place. “We look forward to joining Subaru and other auto manufacturers in the project and demonstrating the feasibility of electric cars with swappable batteries to the rest of the industry. Japan is moving one step closer to the next-generation Car 2.0 model of electric cars fueled by renewable energy.”

Founded in October 2007 with $200 million in venture funding, Better Place builds electric vehicle networks powered by renewable energy. The company is currently working with partners to build electric vehicle infrastructure in Israel, Denmark, Australia and the United States.

Better Place Japan will be led by Kiyotaka Fujii, the former president and CEO of retailer Louis Vuitton’s Japanese subsidiary and SAP Japan. Based in Tokyo, Fujii also will lead the company’s efforts in the Asia Pacific region.

“The Better Place model works across cultures and continents and no one is more qualified and better suited to ensure Japan moves forward in terms of sustainable transportation and energy than Fujii-san,” said Agassi. “When he led SAP Japan, business expanded threefold. He’s the type of leader we want spearheading our efforts in Asia Pacific.”

“While Japan has succeeded in building a robust economy, it should reduce its dependence on oil and lower its carbon footprint. Japan also should look to be a leader in support of electric vehicles by investing in electric charging infrastructure,” said Fujii. “I’m confident that the collaboration between the public and private sectors represented by the Ministry of Environment project will provide major impetus for the adoption of electric vehicles in Japan.”

View the Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan release

Visit Better Place Japanese language page

About Better Place:

Better Place is a mobility operator that aims to reduce oil dependence by delivering personal transportation as a sustainable service. Launched in 2007 with $200 million of venture funding, the company builds electric-vehicle networks powered by renewable energy to give consumers an affordable, sustainable alternative for personal mobility. Better Place is working with partners to build its first standards-based networks in Israel, Denmark, Australia, California and Hawaii. Better Place will activate networks on a country-by-country basis with initial deployments beginning in 2010.

Media Contact(s):

Julie Mullins
Better Place
650-387-0486
julie.mullins@betterplace.com

Jesse V. Green
Hill & Knowlton Japan
+81-3-4520-5800
jesse.green@hillandknowlton.co.jp

A123 Systems Applying for Government Loans

From Autobloggreen today:

A123 Systems announced today that it has applied for $1.84 billion in loans from the Department of Energy to help contribute to the $2.3 billion required to pay for the construction of battery plants in the United States. In what should be good news for Michigan, the first of the facilities A123 is planning would be located there. If A123 gets the funds, it plans to have enough cell manufacturing capacity in place by 2013 to support 5 million hybrid vehicles or half a million battery electric vehicles. The factories would produce employ 14,000 people when fully operational.

A123 claims to be working with seven different automakers right now on 19 different vehicle programs. Those include General Motors for the plug-in hybrid Saturn Vue and the Chevy Volt and Chrysler with its electric programs through its ENVI division. A123 is also working with Better Place on its charging and battery swap network programs. There’s no word so far on when a decision on the application might be made or construction might start.