Electric car maker Tesla Motors will launch its Roadster model with a redesigned battery pack that will increase the distance the car can travel on a single charge by nearly two-thirds to nearly 650 kilometers.
Tesla noted that it expects a 40-50% improvement on driving range between the original Roadster and Roadster 3.0. The current Roadsters can travel up to 395 kilometers on a single charge, BBC reported.
The American carmaker will demonstrate the enhanced range for the new Roadster in a drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles in the early weeks of 2015, the company said in a blog post. The range increase is thanks to a new cell technology that resulted in a battery that provides 70 kilowatt-hours (kWh) in the same package as the original Roadster’s 53kWh pack. That’s an additional 31% of energy. In addition to the more power-packed battery, Tesla also shaved 15% off the Roadster’s drag coefficient and installed new tires that result in a 20% improvement on the car’s rolling resistance. A total of 2,600 Roadsters were produced between 2008-12. The more modern battery cells not only have 31% more energy than those in the original Roadster, according to Tesla, they’re likely quite a bit more durable. The new battery could have a lifespan of 200,000 miles or more.
