Tesla Announces Dual Motors, 'Autopilot' For the Model S

SchrodingerZ writes: Nine days after Elon Musk hinted about a new project, Tesla Motors has unveiled the P85D Sedan. This is Tesla's latest car design, capable of feats not yet seen in electric vehicles. The four door luxury car is able to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in a mere 3.2 seconds, an acceleration similar to the McLaren F1 super car. While the exterior remains the same build as the standard Model S, the interior will have a second motor in the front of the car to complement the rear motor. The D models will also have a slightly greater range of 275 miles on a single charge, 10 miles more than the 85 and P85 cars. Safety features have also been enhanced, adding "adaptive cruise control and the ability to read speed limit signs, stop itself if a crash is imminent, stay in its lane, and even park itself in a street spot or in your garage." Musk explains at the inaugural event, "this car is nuts. It's like taking off from a carrier deck. It's just bananas." The "D" version is available for the 60kWh, 80kWh, and P85 cars, and are expected to start shipping in December of this year.

Comments

Re:Autonomy

[NoImNotNineVolt]

So, 0 to 60 miles in 3.2 seconds... a range of 275 miles... So, it has less than 15 seconds of autonomy.

No, 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds. Then, cruising at that 60 mile per hour for 4.583 hours (not 15 seconds) will take you 275 miles, at which point the battery dies. Reading fail.

Prices

[damn_registrars]

This really should have been included in the summary:

Each of the three versions of the Model S will come as a D model. The price of the 60kWh battery model will go from $71,070 to $75,070 for the dual motor system. The 85 kWh car goes from $81,070 to $85,070, and the P85 jumps from $105,570 to $120,170.

No indication in this article if you can get the adaptive cruise control and other fun high-tech add-ons that come with the "D" (dual motor) version without paying for the D upgrade.

Re:Prices

[timeOday]

The answer is yes:

Tesla's electric Model S has proven a very technically advanced car, except in regards to driver assistance systems. All that changes now, as Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk announced at an event in Los Angeles that every car manufactured over the last two weeks comes with new sensor hardware to enable what he calls Autopilot capabilities.

The event on Thursday night also included an announcement about the D option, an all-wheel-drive Model S with motors at the front and rear wheels.

The Autopilot hardware includes forward-looking radar and camera, combined with all-around long-range ultrasonic sensors. A software update being sent out to cars as an over-the-air update will enable driver assistance features such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and automated parking.

Re:Meh

[Anonymous Coward]

If there is a charging station, you drive for about 4-5 hours, pull in for a 30 minute lunch and let the car charge, drive another couple hours, have supper and charge, drive some more to your final destination and charge over night so you are ready to repeat the next day. 275+200+200 = 675 miles if you have a reasonable number of charging stations along your route.

Re:Performance

[beelsebob]

To be fair, F1 cars accelerate at 3g, brake at 5g and corner at 6g. The g-forces are enough that the drivers can't breath for half the lap. They're getting really close to the point where g forces are a problem.

Re:Performance

[Motard]

Actually, they hit this point in 1997 in IndyCars (CART). The Firestone Firehawk 600 at Texas Motor Speedway had to be called off because of G forces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...

Re:the event

[taiwanjohn]

Found this video on YouTube...

Re:Performance

[tlhIngan]

There is an electric race car that puts out something like 830 HP and 2950 ft. lbs. of torque. I can't even imagine what that kind of power feels like behind the wheel. Electric cars are exciting to gearheads like me who enjoy performance driving. I can't wait until they become more affordable.

The well-known electric racing circuit is the Formula E which uses pure electric race cars. Now, they only last about 10 minutes before drivers have to pit and switch cars, but that just adds a bit more excitement to the mix (how fast you can egress and get in now becomes important, just like how long you spend at pit spots in regular auto racing).

Though, the other thing is just how quiet it is - yeah, I know modern race cars are actually getting a lot quieter to improve mileage (sound energy is wasted energy) and lengthen times between pit stops for refuelling.

Heck, a lot are starting to experiment with hybrid technology for the same reason - pit stops cost time, and if you can go just as fast but use less fuel, then you have a big advantage by skipping a 30-second pit stop (plus having to actually drive through pit row - there's a 60mph speed limit that's strictly enforced. There's a special button on the wheel for this where it limits the max speed to that).

Heck, Formula E has people driving in interesting ways - is it better to be slower and prolong your battery, or go quick and get a sufficient lead for the swap?

And given the low end torque, skill becomes important because wheels that' slip, while impressive, are wasted energy that could be better spent moving.

0.85G Average Acceleration

[randallman]

60 mph is 26.8224 meters per second. At 3.2 seconds, that's 8.382 mps2 / gravity (9.8 mps2) = 0.85G. I'll bet it's even higher off the line.