I just got back from flogging Tesla VP 11—short for validation
prototype number 11—in a roped-off K-Mart parking lot in Bellevue. The
nice Tesla folks made sure to emphasize that this is not a production
vehicle, and that it has suffered quite a bit of abuse during its short
lifetime—all in the name of testing, of course. In fact, one of the
engineers drove it up here from the SF Bay Area last night. This is
definitely no trailer queen!
The car is fast. That little electric motor delivers pure and
instant power. I floored it from a dead stop several times, taking it
quickly up to about 60 or 70 mph before nailing the brakes. What a
blast. The traction control keeps things from getting unruly. And of
course, it's really quiet. So it all feels very civilized. Handling was
quite good (as much as I could test it around the parking lot) though
you definitely feel the weight of the car (about 2,700 pounds vs. the
Elises's 1,950 pounds). The low speed steering was pretty heavy without
power assist, and this particular car was probably in need of a
front-end alignment.
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Re: Test Driving the Tesla Roadster VP 11
