Rimac Automobili CEO Mate Rimac has affirmed that, with certain engineering adjustments, a car can indeed accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than a second, backing Tesla CEO Elon Musk‘s promise of a speedier Roadster.
What Happened: Rimac posted his response to a query from a Facebook user regarding the feasibility of such acceleration.
Musk earlier declared that Tesla’s new Roadster, slated for delivery next year, could achieve the 0-60 mph sprint in under a second. Rimac acknowledged the possibility of such rapid acceleration but highlighted its associated challenges.
“It is possible with thrusters. We did the simulation. Problem is, you release the air in 2-3 seconds and then you have a lot of dead weight that you are carrying around (tanks, compressor, valves, nozzles etc.),” he said.
He added that using fans for additional grip necessitates substantial torque on the wheels, requiring massive motors, inverters, gearboxes, and driveshafts. “Plus, the car has to be super light as otherwise you can't create a lot of excess downforce with the fans as the tires would be overloaded very fast with any kind of car with "normal supercar" weight, especially electric.”
Even then, Rimac emphasized several downsides to this approach.
Why It Matters: Earlier this week, Tesla investor and bull Ross Gerber flagged concerns that the acceleration feature touted by Musk could lift the Roadster off the ground and make it airborne.
Rimac’s sole production electric car, the Nevera, is priced at over $2 million and can reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 1.82 seconds, surpassing the speed of even Tesla’s fastest production vehicle, the Model S Plaid, which achieves the same speed in 2.1 seconds.
In May last year, the Nevera set a record by accelerating from 0 to 249 mph in just 29.93 seconds. When queried about the Roadster potentially breaking this record, Musk responded cryptically with a simple “lol.”
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
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