Tesla Roadster gets an upgrade: 3.0 package increases efficiency, boosts range to 400 miles

   

 

We like the Tesla Roadster, the California-based electric automaker's first production vehicle. Tesla Motors must really like it too, because while production stopped in 2012, the company hasn't stopped tinkering with the car. Consequently, the little convertible is set to receive a substantial upgrade, which Tesla is calling the 3.0 package.

    The upgrade presumably incorporates some of the technological advances learned in the production of the Model S sedan, and it's pleasantly surprising to see that technology making its way back onto a car that hasn't been built for over two years. An automaker that restomods its own past products? We like it. It's a novel idea, especially from a company born of Silicon Valley -- a place known for bringing us technology that's out-of-date and destined for the recycling bin from practically the moment you take it out of the box. 

Here's everything that the 3.0 package changes, as outlined in a Tesla blog post: 

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 percent 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 percent 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 percent improvement. We are also making improvements in the wheel bearings and residual brake drag that further reduce overall rolling resistance of the car.

     All in all, it's enough to boost the drop-top's range by 40 to 50 percent, according to Tesla; that works out to a useable range of 400 or so miles, meaning you won't have to stop at the charging station in Coalinga if you're trying to get from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The company promises to demonstrate this with a drive test in early 2015. Batteries are undergoing safety validation, but after that, Tesla will start taking appointments for the overhaul. 

    That's all from Tesla for now -- unless you want to count the pilot Model S battery-swap program the company just announced -- but we're told to expect more upgrades down the road: "We are confident that this will not be the last update the Roadster will receive in the many years to come," Tesla said.