There's a bit of validity in Tesla Motor's claim that their roadster isn't just a converted Lotus. There's all kinds of new parts and whatnot going into one of these electric rockets. But that was one of the things that excited me about Tesla in the beginning, they weren't going to reinvent the wheel. (or in this case the automobile) Plenty of people make great cars and I thought Tesla was just going to revitalize the market by redesigning the powerplant. Of course, having read a lot of their trials and tribulations its clear that the project isn't that simple. Their transmission woes alone show that the forces involved require more than just an engine swap.
So while I don't hold it against them for reusing "under 7%" of the Lotus design, I can't help but wonder what a converted Elise would cost and how it would compare to a Roadster. Forty grand on the base model leaves sixty grand left for the conversion, and while I don't have any concrete numbers, I bet you could get some high schoolers in Michigan to do it for less than that.
So while I don't hold it against them for reusing "under 7%" of the Lotus design, I can't help but wonder what a converted Elise would cost and how it would compare to a Roadster. Forty grand on the base model leaves sixty grand left for the conversion, and while I don't have any concrete numbers, I bet you could get some high schoolers in Michigan to do it for less than that.
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