Tesla Motors on Sunday unveiled a faster, more powerful version of its Roadster electric sports car at the North American Auto Show in Detroit.
The startup says its new Roadster Sport zips from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, compared with 3.9 seconds for the standard Roadster, has improved suspension that can be tuned to the driver’s performance, and packs an additional 40 horsepower.
“We thought it was time to introduce the next variant of the [Roadster] and show that we could push the technology, show that the development is continuing,” said Zak Edson, head of product planning for San Carlos, California-based Tesla, which is backed by VantagePoint Venture Partners.
The Sport will start at $128,500 in the United States and €112,000 in Europe (compared with $98,000 for the standard Roadster). Deliveries will begin in late June.
Mr. Edson said the company would continue to produce both all-electric models in coming years. He said he expects the Sport will make up about 25 percent of total production volume in the second half of the year, or about 125 cars.
Tesla has so far delivered more than 150 Roadsters to customers, and about 1,100 people are on the waiting list. The company, which raised $40 million in debt financing in November, plans to build a manufacturing facility in San Jose, California, for its electric luxury sedan, the Model S, scheduled to roll off the assembly line in 2011. The Roadster is assembled at a Group Lotus factory in Hethel, United Kingdom.
Tesla has been one of the most high-profile startups focused on building electric cars. But other companies, including Detroit’s struggling Big Three automakers, increasingly have turned their focus toward electric-powered vehicles, which can be recharged through standard electric outlets and produce fewer emissions.
That’s why Tesla isn’t the only company strutting its electric credentials at the Detroit auto show. Rival Fisker Automotive, backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, unveiled on Monday its first production car, the 2010 Fisker Karma. The luxury plug-in hybrid has a starting price of $87,900 and is scheduled to begin deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2009. The car can travel up to 50 miles on battery power until a gasoline engine kicks in to drive the electric motors.
The Irvine, California-based startup also announced that it is building a worldwide retail network to support deliveries of its plug-in hybrids. But the company didn’t offer details about where that network would be focused or which, if any, dealers it would partner with.
Meanwhile, Chrysler unveiled on Sunday at the Detroit auto show two new electric vehicles, adding to the three electric models it previously announced in September.
Chrysler reaffirmed its plans to produce at least one electric model for North American markets in 2010 and European markets some time later. The company said it expects to have 500,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2013.
The automaker unveiled the Chrysler 200C EV concept and Jeep Patriot EV. Both are plug-in hybrid vehicles, which like the Fisker Karma initially run on battery power until a gasoline engine kicks in to drive the electric motors. Chrysler also announced updated versions of its other plug-in hybrid models: the Dodge Circuit EV, Wrangler Unlimited EV, and Chrysler Town & Country EV.
Ford also had plenty to say at the Detroit auto show about its electric plans. The automaker said it will introduce an electric commercial van in 2010, an electric “small car” in 2011 that it will develop with auto parts supplier Magna International, and a plug-in hybrid by 2012.
Ford said these announcements and others were part of its new “electrification plan.” Some of those other announcements included an “eco-partnership” with China’s Changan Auto Group and the cities of Chongqing, China, and Denver, Colorado, to develop projects focused on electric vehicle technologies, green city planning, and efficient urban transportation and grid integration. Ford also announced two new hybrid-electric vehicles, the Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid.
(Photo: Roadster Sport, Tesla Motors)