Tesla’s chief designer Franz von Holzhausen recently gave an interview on an unofficial Tesla podcast where he said the production version of the Roadster will surpass the prototype quite dramatically.
Von Holzhausen told ‘Ride the Lightning’ that development of the four-seat, targa-topped hypercar thing was still underway. “It’s evolving. It needs more time,” said the former director of design at Mazda North America.
“It will be even better than what we unveiled. In every way.”
Now, the second-gen Roadster was first unveiled back in 2017. Even then, the figures were mind-boggling. A quick recap: 0-100kph in 1.9secs, 0-160kph in 4.2secs, the quarter mile (400-metre sprint) in 8.8secs and a top speed somewhere above 400kph.
That’s thanks to the upcoming ‘Plaid’ three-motor powertrain that Elon Musk said – on Twitter of course – would be “the only thing beyond Ludicrous” and that will also be used in the Model S and X.
But will the Roadster really be quicker than 0-100kph in 1.9 seconds? Can anything be quicker than that on the road? We’ll have to wait and see – deliveries were originally scheduled to start in 2020.
“It’s an amazing machine. That car is like no other,” said Von Holzhausen. “It showcases the ability of what an electric vehicle can do.”
Are you sold, or sceptical?
