2010 Tesla Roadaster Sport (3.0 upgrade)

The first car in Space! The Roadster was also the first highway legal serial production all-electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production all-electric car to travel more than 320 kilometres (200 mi) per charge. It is also the first production car to be launched into deep space, carried by a Falcon Heavy rocket in a test flight on February 6, 2018.

According to the U.S. EPA, the Roadster can travel 393 kilometres (244 mi) on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery pack, and can accelerate from 0 to 97 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 3.7 seconds. Motor Trend confirmed these figures in the first independent, instrumented testing of the V2.5 Sport model. The magazine also recorded a 0-to-1⁄4-mile (0.00 to 0.40 km) time of 12.6 seconds at 165.1 km/h (102.6 mph). Tesla said the top speed is electronically limited to 201 km/h (125 mph). Tesla claims it has a weight of 1,305 kg (2,877 lb), a drag coefficient of Cd=0.35–0.36 and a rolling resistance of Crr=0.011.

Tesla began delivering the higher performance version of the Roadster in July 2009. The Roadster Sport has adjustable dampers and a new hand-wound motor, capable of 0 to 97 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 3.7 seconds. Scotty Pollacheck, a high-performance driver for Killacycle, drove a 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport at the Wayland Invitational Drag Race in Portland, Oregon, in July 2009. He did a quarter-mile (~400 m) in dry conditions in 12.643 seconds, setting a new record in the National Electric Drag Racing Association among the SP/A3 class of vehicles.

Simon Hackett and Emilis Prelgauskas broke the distance record for an electric vehicle, driving 501 km (311 mi) from Alice Springs to Marla, South Australia, in Simon's Tesla Roadster. The car had about 4.8 km (3.0 mi) of range left when the drive was completed.

We think the Tesla Roadster will go down in history as one of the most significant models in the adoption of Electric Vehicle technology by automotive manufacturers and consumers. It was the proof of concept for Telsa which enabled them to become the leading manufacturer they are today. As such we think this is a future collectable worthy of interest from enthusiasts around the world.

This particular car has just completed the Roadster 3.0 upgrade:

The Roadster 3.0 package applies what we've learned in Model S to Roadster.

Battery technology has continued a steady improvement in recent years, as has our experience in optimizing total vehicle efficiency through Model S development. We have long been excited to apply our learning back to our first vehicle, and are thrilled to do just that with the prototype Roadster 3.0 package. It consists of three main improvement areas.

1. Batteries
The original Roadster battery was the very first lithium ion battery put into production in any vehicle. It was state of the art in 2008, but cell technology has improved substantially since then. We have identified a new cell that has 31% more energy than the original Roadster cell. Using this new cell we have created a battery pack that delivers roughly 70kWh in the same package as the original battery.

2. Aerodynamics
The original Roadster had a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.36. Using modern computational methods we expect to make a 15% improvement, dropping the total Cd down to 0.31 with a retrofit aero kit.

3. Rolling Resistance
The original Roadster tires have a rolling resistance coefficient (Crr) of 11.0 kg/ton. New tires that we will use on the Roadster 3.0 have a Crr of roughly 8.9 kg/ton, about a 20% improvement. We are also making improvements in the wheel bearings and residual brake drag that further reduce overall rolling resistance of the car.

Summary
Combining all of these improvements we can achieve a predicted 40-50% improvement on range between the original Roadster and Roadster 3.0. There is a set of speeds and driving conditions where we can confidently drive the Roadster 3.0 over 400 miles.

Pefect timing for a collector to add this peice of automotive history to their collection.

Buy with confidence from Australia's leading independent specialist. Finance available to approved purchasers. Trade-ins welcome. Viewing by appointment. Please contact our dealership to learn more about this vehicle. Interstate buyers welcome. Transport available.