I showed Paul how all you have to do to access full power is briefly twist the ignition switch to its full throw (though it doesn't ignite anything, of course). And under power, the Sport emitted a strong whine which neither of us could determine to be entirely gear noise or electronics goings on (even after experimenting with coasting in neutral). Regardless, its acceleration is breathtaking. Make that breath-extracting. At the track, we confirmed the car's 3.7-second scream to 60 mph -- but, that's just a number. Three-point-seven -- what's that mean? Felt, it's such an unnatural thrust that it actually brings to mind that hokey Star Trek star-smear of warp-speed. The quick, linear accumulation of velocity makes you smile and hold on, shake your head, and eventually learn to carve unimaginable moves through traffic that's populated by completely flat-footed internal-combustion cars.
While the Tesla's other performance measures are impressive too, they're simply extraordinary instead of unnatural. Yes, the car's lateral acceleration averaged an impressive 0.98 g, but the steering's feedback at the limit doesn't do the number justice; you find yourself regarding tire slide with a hesitant reserve. This wasn't an issue during our figure-eight test, set in a broad asphalt expanse. But on a narrow road, you just don't have enough information at hand (literally) to explore beyond 90 percent or so.
Another curiosity is that while there's a giant amount of regen deceleration when you lift throttle -- so much so that the brake pedal often doesn't need touching in typical traffic -- lift-throttle on the skidpad doesn't illicit the kind of rotation you need to adjust the attitude mid-corner. And that's despite the car's considerable rear weight bias -- 65 percent -- though power-oversteer is almost too easy. A sports car needs to have both tools available, and in balance. Perhaps the front wheels' zero camber accounts for some of this. Or that Tesla thinks its clientele is interested only in acceleration, and maybe they are. But it would be awfully interesting to spend a day tinkering with the car's setup to see what its real handling potential is.
After dropping Paul off, I briefly stopped by our office, then headed to Tesla's Santa Monica dealership to sheepishly hand over the keys. In a drizzle, I noted the remaining range -- still half left, darn it -- then wormed my way out of the seat, shut the carbon-fiber door (the entire body is carbon), and considered its big questions.
After dropping Paul off, I briefly stopped by our office, then headed to Tesla's Santa Monica dealership to sheepishly hand over the keys. In a drizzle, I noted the remaining range -- still half left, darn it -- then wormed my way out of the seat, shut the carbon-fiber door (the entire body is carbon), and considered its big questions.
%2BFacelift%2BLaunch.jpg)
