The Tesla Roadster has been a long time coming and unfortunately, it still has a long way to go before becoming a reality. However, this hasn’t stopped a Tesla fan from visualizing just how quickly it will accelerate with the available Space X package.
Not too long ago, Jason from the excellent Engineering Explained channel on YouTube put his math skills to the test in determining just how quickly the Roadster will be able to accelerate with the optional Space X package. He concluded it may be able to hit 60 mph (96 km/h) in as little as 1.1 seconds, easily making it the quickest production car on earth.
To give us an idea of what a car accelerating with such ferocity actually looks like, a Twitter user created this 3D animation of the all-electric hypercar rocketing off the line with its cold gas thrusters in action.
Watch Also: This Is How The Tesla Roadster’s Rockets Could Work
While the idea of strapping rockets to the exterior of the Tesla Roadster sounds cool, what is spoken about less is just how impractical such a system will likely prove to be.
The Space X package will involve the car’s rear seats being removed and replaced with a composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) that will be run by a pump receiving its juice from the battery pack. Elon Musk has said the car will use 10 thrusters to improve acceleration, braking, and handling.
However, Engineering Explained believes it will be nothing more than a party trick and that the Roadster will only be able to support 1 or 2 seconds of boost at a time as having more would add too much weight to the car. In more laymen’s terms, it could be compared to a car with NOS bottles; while NOS can provide lots of extra power, it can only do so for a few seconds before needing to be refilled.
This is how fast 1.1 seconds 0 – 60mph take off should look like with Space X package thrusters on the Tesla Roadster. Computer worked out physics and then visualised in a render animation. Not sure how much gas but threw the effect in anyway. Enjoy @elonmusk #tesla #spacex pic.twitter.com/VzMukQPT2E
— Slave' Popovski ® (@Pslavi) June 23, 2020