You wouldn't hit those numbers without some front wheel help. And you would miss out on some of the directional stability and control without the ability to apply forces from that end of the car too.
Do you really need those numbers though? Why not cut down the power a little and make a more fun car to drive? The P1 is RWD and people love driving it.
At the end of the day, a roadster of that price is at minimum a second car and more than likely just an expensive toy. Make it fun.
I'm not arguing for or against RWD. But since this project appears to be a bit of a Tesla show-off (which is fine!), I don't think they're concerned with anything less than the ultimate numbers.
If it were about fun, they would have produced something about like a Miata :).
Awesome. But most people are not prepared for performance like that. I hope the safety systems work perfectly in the 0-100 case, because the distance you can travel with so little time to comprehend what situation you're about to be in is significant.
And it should probably require a breathalyzer pass to enable the fast mode!
0-100kph in 1.9 seconds is the sort of performance the Group-A Jet Sprint boat I used to copilot had. That's with a 600+ hp, methanol powered drag engine. At full power, it could pull a full G accelerating.
That performance in a road car would be mental. However, you can still manage it quite well - there are supercars (and highly modified street cars) that can pull similar numbers, and you don't immediately die when driving them so long as you have the experience. Having breath lockouts and such is almost offensive to the sort of people who can handle these sorts of vehicles.
I'd be more inclined to suggest a buyer preselection system, or at least offer in-house driver training.
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[ 4.0 ms ] story [ 49.4 ms ] threadAccording to tesla.com/roadster
Also why no RWD version? I feel like they are way more fun to drive. Not like I can afford one anyway let alone buy it.
At the end of the day, a roadster of that price is at minimum a second car and more than likely just an expensive toy. Make it fun.
If it were about fun, they would have produced something about like a Miata :).
Two words: Snap Oversteer
The thing would have so much power and torque - with the drivetrain weight over the rear wheels - that a RWD variant would probably be scary.
And it should probably require a breathalyzer pass to enable the fast mode!
That performance in a road car would be mental. However, you can still manage it quite well - there are supercars (and highly modified street cars) that can pull similar numbers, and you don't immediately die when driving them so long as you have the experience. Having breath lockouts and such is almost offensive to the sort of people who can handle these sorts of vehicles.
I'd be more inclined to suggest a buyer preselection system, or at least offer in-house driver training.
One need only look at Youtube for videos of what happens when normal people try out their new overpowered toys.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15719262