Video of the Tesla Roadster testing on ice! — Autoblog Green

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Video of the Tesla Roadster testing on ice!

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on Jan 26th 2007 at 3:02PM

Tesla has posted some videos on YouTube of the Roadster undergoing cold weather testing up in northern Sweden. There's nothing quite like blasting around a frozen lake in the middle of winter in a high powered sports car. There are two more video's after the jump

[Source: Tesla Motors]

Here's another video

And finally a split-mu ABS stop!

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors

Tags: video, winter testing, WinterTesting

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

1

1985 Gripen 3:33PM (1/26/2007)

Okay, this is really weird. Are we SURE this is a Tesla and not a Lotus Elise (or even Exige)? I was hearing engine noise in the first two videos but figured it was coming from the moving camera car, but in the last video after the car stops it starts up again and sure sounds like an internal combustion engine rather than an EV.

2

1985 Gripen 4:08PM (1/26/2007)

I'm calling "shenanigans!"

That's definitely engine noise coming from the "Tesla" in that third clip where the camera vehicle is stationary. The other two clips you can really only hear noise of tires on crunching ice, but that could be the sound coming from the camera car if the cameraman is on the inside of the car filming outward. That would cover-up the engine noise from the Tesla.

Did Tesla perhaps take a Lotus Elise (I take back my Exige speculation as the car in the videos is not consistent with an Exige) with a standard IC engine up to Sweden for incliment weather handling testing perhaps?

It would seem disingenuous to post videos of this testing because one of the claimed drawbacks of EV is the batteries' inability to handle cold weather. That's why the GM EV1 was only leased in warm weather states (California, Arizona, and Florida, I believe). The only reason to show a Tesla in Sweden would be to imply that it can handle cold weather.

Am I out of line?

3

Jimmy 5:27PM (1/26/2007)

"Am I out of line?"

Yes, I fear you are. You have cast doubt upon the Holy Tesla! You must express only awe and adoration towards any battery electric vehicle. Your devotion and faith in lithium-ion salvation must never waiver, lest you be found a heretic and cast out of "Whole Foods".

Until the blessed lithium-ion savior comes, you must dutifully abide in your Toyota, which you must deeply regret driving. While you sometimes must drive your Toyota, you must never ever enjoy it. Driving is for transportation purposes only. Wanton recreational driving is an immoral pleasure. Such indulgence will lead to eternal sweltering for you and your children and your children's children! Remember the prophet's documentary film!

4

Sam Abuelsamid 6:26PM (1/26/2007)

The sound in the first video is definitely the chase car. In the other two videos, what your hearing the crunch of the snow tires on the cold snow. The cold dry air of northern Sweden makes for crunchy sound when you drive over it. I've spent many weeks up there testing and the sounds you hear are totally consistent. You don't really hear the car at all.

5

1985 Gripen 6:35PM (1/26/2007)

LOL! Thanks, Jimmy. I kind of was expecting a response on whether others think that there are shenanigans going on with this "Tesla" testing. But you did make me laugh, so bonus points to you.

6

k0an 6:28PM (1/26/2007)

Actually, if you look carefully there is a shadow of a large vehicle coming from the right hand side at the end of the 3rd video. It's some van or truck that is driving by, not the Tesla.

7

1985 Gripen 6:37PM (1/26/2007)

It's most noticeable to me in the third video (the one where the Tesla stops and then starts again). After the Tesla stops just before it starts again it sounds like an engine being revved and as it gains speed that sound increases.

If indeed it is the sound of a vehicle driving by it's remarkably sync'ed to the motion of the Tesla! Watch it again.

8

Turbofrog 7:31PM (1/26/2007)

Where would the benefit be in them faking the video. That would only hurt their reputation, and they'd waste a lot of money sending an Elise to Sweden without any benefits to their vehicle research which is kind of their business.

Tesla seems serious about expanding into a real competitor, with the Whitestar and potential sedan, so I'm not going to hold on to conspiracy theories for now.

9

Tony Belding 7:45PM (1/26/2007)

My analysis for whatever it's worth: If you watch closely in the third video, the deep "engine sound" seems to start when the Tesla accelerates. . . then in the last couple of seconds the Tesla decelerates but the sound continues steadily and actually rises slightly in pitch while the shadow of the other vehicle comes into view just for an instant. I think it's merely an unfortunate happenstance that the truck engine started up just as the Tesla started to move.

In any event, I can assure you that deep-throated sound is not the engine noise of a Lotus Elise. :)

I don't hear the Tesla making engine noises anywhere else in these three videos. The second one (where the Tesla is under power and there's no chase car) seems particularly compelling.

These videos are fantastic, I love to see this kind of stuff.

10

Jesse 7:54PM (1/26/2007)

yea in the third video the sound of an engine is because of another car. you can see its shadow right at the end of it. it is REALLY obvious that it is not coming from the tesla if you watch the video again because as the tesla slows down to a stop....the engine sound keeps getting louder

11

UrbanDavid 1:10AM (1/27/2007)

Jimmy, #3... it's just not funny anymore. Trite and sophomoric maybe but not funny.

I grew up in the land of nigger jokes. Just as I matured and learned about the world and those jokes lost their humor, so too do jokes about drivin' yur big SUV over the corpses of polar bears under a blistering arctic sun or whatever other lame pop-culture inspired facetious diatribe you can come up with.

12

GOT 10:27AM (1/27/2007)

Awesome car! Questionable videos.

That large shadow in the 3rd clip cannot be concluded to be a “large truck” LOL! It looks like a person to me.

13

Barney 11:07AM (1/27/2007)

re #10. Your right Jesse. After replaying the video I caught the shadow as well and the sound corresponds to it.

14

Bilbo 11:57AM (1/27/2007)

Don't listen to that crazy guy Jimmy. Funniest thing I've ever read about Toyotas. Spot on for all their line of cars, actually. I didn't see any problem with anything in your post. Is the word Toyota suddenly a bad thing? I think we need to take it back. We need to take back the word toyota! Right on!

But seriously. I think it was written from someone who believes, but is tired, as I am, of only having boring energy conscious choices.

15

Tony Belding 12:13PM (1/27/2007)

Just for fun, compare and contrast the Tesla videos with the video GM released to show off the Chevy Volt. . . http://youtube.com/watch?v=R7qU1EcEZmA Which car would you rather drive? :)

16

rob 9:58PM (1/27/2007)

At the end of the third video, you hear the engine noise when the tesla starts to move again. Shortly after, the tesla stops, but the noise of the engine is still loud. If you look closely, right before the end of the video, you can see the shadow of another vehicle in the bottom right moving toward the camera man. That's where you hear the engine noise....

17

dravis 8:14PM (1/27/2007)

they have these videos on their own site

http://www.teslamotors.com/engineering/safety.php

18

alphaseinor 11:50AM (1/28/2007)

I'm not sure about you... but I thought it was very quiet. Have you ever heard a Lotus? It's not your mother's Oldsmobile.

19

Myles H. Kitchen 6:20PM (1/28/2007)

All:
Trust me, the Tesla is for real. I actually rode in one yesterday! It's all electric and there is no gas engine in there. Tesla invited a group of around 40 of us in the Pacific Region of the Ferrari Club of America to visit their facilities, and there was a drawing for 6 of us to get rides in one of the prototypes. I was one of the lucky six. Without a doubt, this car has awesome acceleration. The prototype did not have 1st gear working, but even from a rolling start in 2nd (there's only 2 gears) we completely dusted a tricked out 350Z that was trying to keep up with us...there was just no way. The electric motor can spin up to something like 19,000 rpm and makes a unique sound, not unlike some engines, particularly a turbo or supercharged motor. There's also a battery cooling fan than makes some noise as well.

20

Morgan W 6:41PM (1/29/2007)

You are all hilarious! Engine noise...oh oh...I heard a bird cawing in the background too...maybe it was helping to tow the car around the track...oh wait...I heard wind blowing...are we sure it wasn't wind blowing that car around the track!

I find it funny that we're already seeing video clips of the Tesla on ice and in winter conditions, and most of your humvees and suv's won't see ice or even gravel roads unless the grovery store parking lot hasn't had the snow removed for your SUV's convenience!

By the way...you know you can fit more than one person in those SUV's right?

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