Tesla One Makes Race Series?
The racing biz has been trying to go green for nearly a decade now, realizing that sheer horsepower and derring-do don’t conform to the temper of the times. The new mantra: race on Sunday, save the planet on Monday (after breakfast on my yacht). So the idea of a one-make Tesla Roadster race series makes perfect sense: from a political point of view. As Tesla never met a trail balloon it couldn’t inflate with hot air, it’s no surprise that Tesla communictions manager Rachel Konrad gave the [we swear it’s not an April fool’s] idea her tacit support. “The Roadster’s acceleration certainly makes it competitive against other premium sports cars, so it’s not surprising that some customers are interested in competitions.” Yes, well, as Pistonheads points out, racing Roadsters would require a bit more development work. “However, there may be a few barriers to this new form of ‘green motorsport’. Continual hard driving may force the Tesla’s motor to overheat, causing a loss of power that wouldn’t make for very exciting racing. Races would also have to be kept to short sprint events, as a Le Mans-style 24-hour race would no doubt be made up of more battery charging than racing.” Oh, sure, NOW they piss on them . . .
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Actually, there is a way to do long-range EV racing. Pit-stop battery swaps. That gives you your massive transfer of energy in a few seconds, just like filling it up with liquid fuel.
actually this would be a great testing environment for some of the new rapidly charging Li-Ion cells researchers are developing. Example http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/battery-material-0311.html Probably a few years away before this is ready to be installed in test vehicles though.
Well, if track racing is out, what about electric drag racing instead? You'd have the junior class using their own battery packs - nice tradeoff between mass, power, and acceleration. The ultimate class (sorry, don't know drag racing terms) would have overhead catenary wires and the drag racers would pick up current with a pantograph, like an electric train. You could pump some pretty awesome power into a light chassis. Expect times to be competitive with IC dragsters. Of course, it won't be the same without the noise.
Wow! Stop the presses! A car built for the street may overheat if it is used as a racecar!! Get over it. Racing improves the breed. This is a very good idea for Tesla, should they follow it through. The technical issues they are forced to overcome should make the car better, which means a better product for everyone. TTAC: always good for your daily dose of anti-Tesla non-sensical drivel.