What is a Hypercar?
5 years ago, that wasn’t a very hard question to answer.
Ferrari LaFerrari.
Mclaren P1
Porshe 918
These three cars made up the Holy Trinity and with their innovation and hybrid technology, it left their competitors to bite the dust (literally).
Their speed. Their sound. Their price. Each number pushed the boundaries of what a car could achieve.
But last week, something special happned. What happens if there was a car that had the speed. No sound. And only a tenth of the price?
Say hello to Tesla’s New Roadster.
It can zoom from 0-60mph in 1.9 seconds – making it the first car to accelerate to this speed in under two seconds. It will also go from 0-100mph in 4.1 seconds and cover a quarter mile drag strip in 8.9 seconds. The top speed has been set at 250mph+, making it faster than a Koenigsegg CCR, McLaren F1 and the Ferrari LaFerrari.
In addition to this it will also have a range of 620 miles on a single charge which is almost double what the Tesla Model S has, thanks to its 200kWh battery.
These specs have captivated the car world since the car rolled out of the shipping container on Friday but company CEO Elon Musk has alluded to it being even quicker than this.
In a tweet Musk said: “Should clarify that this is the base model performance.”
Let that sink in. The base model is faster than a LaFerrari. Prices start at $200 000, whereas a LaFerrari costs $3 million sticker. (That’s sticker, recent prices show that one was auctioned at $7 million in 2016)
To me, a hypercar is a car that pushes the boundaries of the car world in terms of performance and innovation. The Tesla Roadster does exactly that.
So, yes. The new Tesla Roadster is a hypercar.
-Felix
