HEAR THE BIRDS SINGING AT 120KM/H

+ Click to Enlarge SILENT SPEEDSTER: The Tesla Roadster is a quick as a Ferrari - and all you will hear is the tyres on the road.

September 14, 2009
By James Martin

Can you be green, without ever wanting to hear another bleeding-heart word about the environment as long as you live?

I do my bit more than most: I recycle all my rubbish and sort it into three different bins. I turn all my kitchen waste into compost.

Even my washing powder is twice-the-price organic stuff that doesn't give worms tummy-aches when it returns to the earth.

But whenever I drive to London, dutifully paying my £8 for the privilege (on top of my road tax, petrol tax, parking and all the other rip-offs), without fail a cyclist will rap on my window and make some holier-than-thou comment before zooming off through a red light where he knows I can't get him.

I hate those cyclists - every last herbal tea-drinking, Green Party-voting one of them. That's one of the reasons I live in the countryside, where birds tweet, horses roam, pigs grunt and Lycra-clad buttocks are miles away. But recently, there's been a disturbing development.

Each Saturday a big black truck appears at the bottom of my road, with bikes stuck to the roof and rear. Out of it step a bunch of City-boy ponces in fluorescent Spider-Man outfits, shades, bum bags and stupid cleated shoes, who then pedal around our narrow lanes four abreast with their private parts alarmingly apparent. Do they enjoy it? They never smile. I'm sure they just come here to wind me up.

Anyway, the other day the local distributors sent me the latest eco-friendly electric car - a Tesla Roadster, trumpeted as the world's first battery-powered sports car.

It costs £94 000 (R1.2-million), does 210km/h, but emits 89g/km less carbon than a Toyota Prius - that is, none at all.

So naturally, the first customers were tree-huggers Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney. It's very Californian, this car. Company boss Elon Musk is a Silicon Valley multimillionaire, so that's where they build them - but it's actually based on the British Lotus Elise.

Not much of the Elise has survived the transformation: they had to strengthen the chassis and add 150mm to accommodate the battery (actually 6831 laptop batteries stuck together) and the powerful temperature control, without which it would overheat - and refuse to work in cold weather.

Where an Elise uses aluminium and glass fibre, this uses carbon fibre - and because it doesn't need the scoops and vents the Elise uses to cool its engine and brakes, it's got more aristocratic lines, almost like a grand tourer. I haven't seen anything quite like it before.

The wheels look good, but the tyres are low-rolling-resistance to extend its range, which means a harder ride and less grip. Thanks to that heavy pile of batteries, it handles a fair bit worse than an Elise, but it's still sporty.

220V FUEL SUPPLY

The T-top roof (removable panels either side of a central strut) is a godsend, as during my test drive the sun made one of its brief appearances and it only took seconds to chuck the bits in the boot next to the recharging plug.

Yes, it uses an everyday 220V plug, charging up on only £3.50 (R45) of electricity - though you'll need to fit a 62A three phase socket in your garage if you want to reduce the charge time from 16 hours to less than four.

Inside there isn't a lot - two seats that are comfortable up to a point, a cup-holder, a stereo and air con - but then you don't always expect luxuries in sports cars.

Ferrari ripped the carpets, stereo and padding out of its 430, called it a special-edition 'Scuderia' and charged R375 000 extra, so it's quite commonplace. I promise you, in the Tesla you don't notice anyhthing except the acceleration.

This could go head-to-head with any Ferrari, going from 0-100 in 3.9sec. But what completely freaked me out was that it does it in complete silence. At the speed limit, I could still hear the birds tweeting in the bushes.

Adding to the out-of-body experience, there's absolutely no power lag: put your foot down and you instantly get the entire 380Nm of thrust - all coming, unbelievably, from a motor the size of a cabbage with only two moving parts (moving at up to 14 000rpm, I might add).

LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE

I only had this car for six hours - partly because they needed to get it back to the showroom in Knightsbridge, but also because it only had enough juice in it for 200km, after which it needed to be recharged overnight.

You may think that's a huge drawback for a sports car, and I agree. I like to drive to the Essen auto show in Germany at this time of year. In this, it would take two or three days - assuming you could find somewhere to plug it in. And I've just remembered the plugs are a different shape in Europe. It's a logistical nightmare.

But I don't care about any of that and here's why. Twenty minutes into my test drive I pulled round a leafy bend, enjoying the birdsong - and spotted those damned Spider-Man cyclists.

Knowing they wouldn't hear me coming, I stepped on the gas, waited until the split second before I overtook them, then gave them an almighty blast on the horn at the exact same time I passed them at speed.

The look of sheer terror as they tottered into the hedge was the best thing I've ever seen in my rear-view mirror. I think this could be the car for me. - Daily Mail

SPECIFICATIONS

Price: £94 000 (R1.2-million).
Engine: Three-phase electric motor with lithium-ion battery pack.
Power: 185kW.
Torque: 380Nm.
Transmission: Single-speed gearbox, rear-wheel drive.
Top speed: 210km/h.
Emissions: Zero.
Claimed range: 340km on a full charge.
Standard features: Brembo/AP anti-locking racing brakes, traction control, heatable sports seats with inflatable lumbar support, aircon, hand-built carbon-fibre body, LED tail lights, cruise control.
Optional: Satnav with upgraded seven-speaker sound and subwoofer, carbon-and-leather interior, custom paint.