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Koenigsegg sees new Tesla Roadster as the 'gauntlet' thrown down

Christian von Koenigsegg, the man behind the company that holds the current record for world's fastest car, does not like to be outdone. So he did not particularly enjoy hearing the numbers regarding the forthcoming next-generation Tesla Roadster and its vaunted 1.9-second 0-60 mph time. "We kind of had our future mapped out, and then we heard about the new Tesla Roadster and its insane acceleration numbers, and we thought 'Damn, that's put the gauntlet down,'" the Koenigsegg founder and CEO told Top Gear. As he told the site, he enlisted his engineers to start running numbers, and within a couple of days, they'd figured out a solution. "The simplest way of putting it is like this: It's combining direct drive with the hybridization we have in a different format with free-valve engine technology, in a peculiar layout," von Koenigsegg said. He said the powertrain could take a car from 0-250 mph in 14 seconds "or something like this," and said he wants to make a combustion engine with a higher power density than an electric powertrain "for as long as possible." His talk about hybrids brings to mind the Koenigsegg Regera plug-in hybrid, which weighs just 3,505 pounds and puts out more than 1,500 horsepower. It does 0-62 mph in 2.8 seconds — impressive, but a full 0.9 seconds less than the Roadster's purported time. And not surprising for a company that is all about maximizing ponies, Koenigsegg likes to geek out over the details of things like the design of the 1,160-hp Agera RS engine. Could he be talking about the same vehicle as the successor to the Agera RS, rumored to be called Ragnarok? Tesla, meanwhile, unveiled said Roadster at Grand Basel in Switzerland — or rather, it showed off what appeared to be a white, empty design shell that had been shown last year at Tesla's shareholder meeting. And don't forget that the mad scientists over at Hennessey are tinkering with the 7.6-liter V8 for the Venom F5, the key to its quest to hit 300 mph. So buckle your seat belts, boys and girls: Things are about to get very fast. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: Drew Phillips Green Tesla Koenigsegg Hybrid Performance Supercars PHEV koenigsegg agera koenigsegg regera hennessey venom f5

60 Minutes can't even get Tesla Model S EV sound right

60 Minutes has come under fire for screwing up important bits of news recently, but an error in Sunday's profile of Tesla Motors and CEO Elon Musk is completely perplexing. 60 Minutes has said it was an "audio editing error," but we're wondering how you manage to edit in internal combustion engine and transmission sounds into a video specifically on electric vehicles. The stock footage that 60 Minutes used is official Tesla material, but the videos on the company's YouTube page are devoid of engine sounds. 60 Minutes editors added the noises, which were noticed by eagle-eared (is that a thing?) viewers who know that one of the appeals of an EV is the silent ride. In other parts of the interview, Musk says that a 400-mile battery is possible today but it would be too expensive, talks about how the DOE loan was helpful but was not necessary to keep Tesla alive and his attitude that, "If something's important enough, you should try, even if the probable outcome is failure." This isn't the first time television producers have made a Tesla EV look bad. This isn't the first time television producers have made a Tesla EV look bad. The most famous case was when the BBC show Top Gear pretended to run out of juice in a Roadster. Tesla sued for libel in 2011, but the case was dismissed in 2013. Tesla declined to comment to AutoblogGreen on the situation and 60 Minutes told Fox News it will update the videos online. Even when the sound is gone, the profile of the man and the company remains interesting. You can watch it below. As of this writing, the engine sounds still can be heard at around the 40-second mark in the shorter video we've embedded below (the top one) and you can see the whole profile in the second video. The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Woz pranks the Internet with 'his' Tesla Model X

This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. People pay attention to Steve Wozniak. People pay attention to Tesla Motors. Put the two together, with the bonus of a not-yet-available Model X, and you've got the makings of Twitter gold. This was proven yesterday, when Woz Tweeted a picture of himself with what he said was "our new Tesla!" Excited admirers offered their congratulations and wanted to see the cool Falcon doors in action. But it was all a dream too sweet. The Model X, after all, isn't due until the end of the year and even an Apple co-founder can't bend time that much. Tech editor at The Street Chris Ciaccia popped the bubble with this Tweeted explanation: "Despite @stevewoz tweeting a pic of him w/the Model X, not his new car. Just a photo op with the display model at that charging station." So, really, "Woz's" Model X could belong to anyone who wants to go to wherever the display model is located and snap a picture. We would not be surprised, though, if Woz is one of the 12,000 (guesstimated) pre-orders for the Model X. The all-wheel drive, all-electric CUV can hit 60 miles per hour in under five seconds thanks to a powertrain similar to the one in the Model S. Like the popular S, the X will come with either a 60- or 85-kWh battery. You can see the Falcon doors move up and down, digitally, here.