If you want an electric sportscar but worry the Tesla Roadster isn’t as fast or expensive as it could be, the Tesla Roadster Sport is for you. But what does an extra $20K get you?

Tesla promises their Roadster Sport will achieve a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds, quicker than the 3.9 seconds the standard Roadster achieves. Power is boosted slightly thanks to a hand-wound stator and increased winding density, which we’re guessing is the electric version of adding new headers and a freer-flowing exhaust.

Tesla is taking orders for the Roadster Sport, a shockingly high-performance sports car based on the world’s leading all-electric, zero emmision vehicle. Price starts at $128,500 in the United States and €112,000 (excluding VAT) in Europe. Deliveries begin in late June. Tesla has delivered more than 150 Roadsters to customers, and about 1,100 people are on the waiting list. Customers who haven’t taken delivery may upgrade to the Roadster Sport.

Improved Power and Handling

* Power motor: Hand wound stator and increased winding density for lower resistance and higher peak torque
* 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds
* Custom tuned suspension: Adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars tuned to driver’s preference
* Dark finish forged alloy Tesla wheels
* Tires: Yokohama A048 Ultra High Performance
* Unique Sport badging

When we set out to build a high-performance electric car, the biggest challenge was obvious from the start: the battery. Its complexities are clear: it’s heavy, expensive, and offers limited power and range. Yet it has one quality that eclipses these disadvantages and motivated us to keep working tirelessly: it’s clean.

The Tesla Roadster’s battery pack — the car’s “fuel tank” — represents the biggest innovation in the Tesla Roadster and is one of the largest and most advanced battery packs in the world. We’ve combined available and proven lithium ion battery technology with our own unique battery pack design to provide multiple layers of safety. It’s light, durable, recyclable, and it is capable of delivering enough power to accelerate the Tesla Roadster from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds. Meanwhile, the battery stores enough energy for the vehicle to travel about 220 miles without recharging, something no other production electric vehicle in history can claim.

Most of the subsystems in the Tesla Roadster are completely electronic and under direct software control. Unlike lesser cars, these systems are not merely a hodge-podge of independent systems arranged pell mell. Instead, each component is designed to be part of a whole that is based on the modern architecture of complex network and computer systems.

You’ll see the hub of this network every time you pop the trunk — the Power Electronics Module (PEM). When you shift gears or accelerate in the Tesla Roadster, the PEM translates your commands into precisely timed voltages, telling the motor to respond with the proper speed and direction of rotation. The PEM also controls motor torque, charging, and regenerative braking, and it monitors things like the voltage delivered by the Battery, the speed of rotation of the motor, and the temperatures of the motor and power electronics.

The PEM controls over 200 kW of electrical power during peak acceleration — enough power to illuminate 2,000 incandescent light bulbs.

source : teslamotors