Tesla Motors will blend the qualities of a sport utility vehicle and a minivan in an all-electric car that's targeted to hit the streets in 2014.
Known as the Model X, the new vehicle will seat seven, offer a 17-inch touchscreen in the front seat, and feature "falcon wing" doors that enable passengers to easily walk into the vehicle. A concept version of the Model X appeared at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last week.
"Tesla is all about clever solutions," Tesla designer Andre Franco told Design News. "We look at the market and try to find ways to improve on what's already there."
For now, Tesla is saying little about the vehicle's technical specifications. Driving range is as yet unknown, but the Model X will offer a lithium-ion battery pack, sized between 60 kWh and 85 kWh. By comparison, the Tesla Model S that came out in 2012 offered a 60-kWh battery with a 208-mile (EPA) range, and an 85-kWh battery with a 265-mile range. The proposed Model X is expected to offer a range somewhere between those two.
Click on the image to check out the Tesla Model X.
"Falcon wing" doors on the X open upward, but not outward. The design enables adults to walk into the vehicle, instead of crawling in. (Source: Tesla Motors)
The Model X will also offer optional all-wheel drive, which the company says will boost torque by 50 percent. Featuring an additional electric motor-gearbox package about the size of a duffel bag between the rear wheels, the all-wheel-drive version of the X will reportedly accelerate from 0 mph to 60 mph in under five seconds, which would place it among the fastest SUVs on the market.
The new vehicle's most unusual feature, however, may be its availability of so-called "falcon wing" side doors. Using a hinge between the glass roof panel and the side door, the falcon wing opens upward, without swinging outward.
"It's a re-imagination of the sliding side door on a minivan," Dustin Krause, regional sales manager of Tesla, told Design News. "With a traditional gull wing door, you wouldn't be able to park alongside another vehicle because there wouldn't be room to open the door. This gives you room to enter, without interfering with other vehicles."
Indeed, Tesla representatives at the show demonstrated how the falcon wing feature allows an adult to stand in the middle row, while offering easy access to the second and third rows of seating. "The intention is not to crawl into a car, but to walk into it," Franco told us as he stood up inside the car's open door. "So you don't have to cantilever yourself to put a child in a car seat."
At the show, Tesla also showed off a touchscreen that measures 17 inches, diagonally. The touchscreen will serve as a traditional front console display, but is expected to appeal to drivers who are already familiar with touch technology on their phones and tablet computers. If the 17-inch size reaches production, it would be the biggest touchscreen in the auto industry by about five inches. "Touch technology is becoming commonplace, and we thought it needed to be inside our vehicles," Krause said.
Production is set for 2014 in Tesla's Fremont, Calif. plant. Pricing is not yet known, but could be in the same range as the Model S. The vehicle is expected to be targeted at buyers of SUV and minivans who are looking to go electric. "This is about taking the flexibility of a minivan and adding a little more flair," Krause said.
I just watched the company video at: http://vimeo.com/36534892
At 16:19 you can see the Falcon Wing doors opening. It's not true that these doors will not open outwards. So I replayed that sequence of door opening and clearly the door moves upward at first, and then angles outward about 30° from vertical, before swinging back inwards a couple inches.
There's also a 'click & drag' feature on the Tesla site: http://www.teslamotors.com/modelx
In the garage while parked next to another car. Here you can see that it really looks too close if you park at the doors opening clearance limits. But the camera position is not chosen to show the clearance accurately, but to dramatize the apparent clearance. The camera really needs to be placed looking squarely between the two cars.
This is a reaonable clearance because if you were to park so close to an obstacle that the door is almost touching while it opens, then you will be shuffling sideways to get past the vehicle. So these Falcon Wing doors use about half the room of the front doors, plus the needed clearance is up high. If you park with a reasonable looking amount of room, then there shouldn't be any issues with getting the rear doors open. A sliding side door will use more space as that kind needs to hang outside the car body, using up valuable inches.
As for how you close these doors, this video shows that they are powered down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T67oOf4JqwI
There's a warning bell that starts before the doors open or close, like a backup alarm. The warning bell shuts off when the doors stop moving. Obviously, Tesla thought of the situation where a child in the rear seat is unable to close their door, an adult in the front can still do so using a remote door switch. I imagine that will also work for opening.
But I still would prefer to see the Jatech Rotary Drop Door used.
TRhe reviews I have seen outside the EV worshipping community seem to think that the fit and finish of these cars would make the Yugo look like a luxury car... In a day and age when we are seeing wages decline and costs of everything go up, does another $60K car that we have to support with our already scarce tax dollars make any sense? It seems that most of these ideas (electric with short range, hydrogen fuels and the energy costs to obtain hydrogen...) are so much in the feel good area that we are supposed to forget that most people can't afford one, and the long term viability isn't there. Or we can look to folks like good old green Al Gore who preaches that we should sacrifice while he and his wife fly around in a grossly inefficient Gulf Stream Jet.
The EX does not run without polution, and no-one wants to talk about the real energy and polution cost to drive one. Mostly it seems that it is cool because the governemt is subsidizing them. So I can't afford one, but I have to help someone with considerably higher income buy theirs.
Just a thought on the "distracting" 17-inch screen: If you load up the screen with lots of tiny font information or download a Netflix movie, it will definitely be distracting. The display in the pictures looks like some marketing glitz to show off the screen. However, large-font critical information compatible with more "mature" eyesight would be faster to comprehend and actually less distracting.
Tesla is a company that has posted losses for years, is behind on their guvmint loan, discontinued the Roadster and can't get Model S's out the door - and they're working on another one? So they think styling/features are what's going to convince the masses to pay $25K more for a car? At some point, they're going to have to sell something.
I have already started saving up for this vehicle. The 17' screen is already present in the Tesla Model S. I truly believe in this company and as far as I am concerned, they are are already successful. They pushed the EV envelope and demonstrated what is possible that was thought impossible. They have a solid business plan starting with the roadster as an elite niche vehicle that was "Proof of concept" and are now getting gradually more mainstream with the Model S and upcoming Model X. If I cannot save up enough for the Model X I would consider shooting for the more affordable Gen 3 unless it is FWD, that would just be dumb!
@TJ--I agree there are features that seem a stretch, and the doors are near the top of the list. Doesn't anyone remember the DeLorean? I'm not sure I'm convinced about "walk in". If you don't cut out the floorboard, then you still get to the door frame and have to get in. And, you have that door above your head. On my ancient Toyota, the rear hatch pnematic assist has gotten tired and sometimes I bang my head because it is open but not all the way up. If they forego pneumatic assist, it will mean electric motors and more battery drain and more stuff to fail. I also wonder how you get out in certain emergencies?
I can understand a big touchscreen if the icons are larger etc. Would make it easier for the driver to do things without taking their eyes off the road as much. I'm not sure it will really be distracting if done right. However, 17" starts to sound like they have hired designers from Sony (or from Texas?).
The one cool thing to me is the extra motor for the AWD. Now that is something a conventional SUV can't do, although it is starting to appear on hybrids.
Yes, it's around $50K, Jenn. In November, the base starting price went to $59,900. After the $7,500 federal rebate, it comes in a little over $52K. The price of the Model X is likely to be battery dependent. If it uses a bigger battery than the base Model S, then the price could be higher.
First and foremost, I have to say: I want one! Those doors alone are pretty cool - they remind me of a hybrid version of the suicide door.
Chuck, you mention that pricing is not yet known, but are you merely speculating that the price will be along the lines of the Model S? If memory serves, that car will start at about $50K.
I agree...a touchscreen is clever and probably very helpful, but definitely seems like it would distract the driver. The falcon-wing doors, though, are very cool...although i do wonder about opening the doors with a car next to you. The idea is that you can, but I know from experience with my VW Transporter van that opens upward in the back, if a car is parked too close you can't open the door. Perhaps there is something about the movement of the Model X's wing doors that prevent such a problem.
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