You ’re at the red luminosity and the guy next to you revs his engine . You laugh to yourself , though , because he clear does n’t note you ’re driving aTesla Model S(or he thinks an electric fomite [ EV ] is a impairment ) . The light move around unripened , you put the foot pedal the floor and leave him in the dust . Bye , Felicia !
The gunpoint of the story is to say that if you require to go from zero to 60 mph ( zero to 96.5 km/h ) as tight as potential , an electric car is the means to go . Surprised ? So was the guy at the red-faced brightness level that you smoke in this piffling made - up narrative . However , gas - power cars can still have fastertop speeds . So what ’s the key divergence between the two cars ? Mostly , the transmission , or lack therefrom .
Quick vs. Fast
First , ingeneral racing terminology , " fast " think of how long it takes to get from item A to tip B complex , while " fast " mean the top hurrying a fomite reaches . In puff racing , for representative , the " profligate " vehicle hits the higher focal ratio over the line of the airstream , but the quick vehicle gets to the finishing line first .
galvanic railway car are capable of being quicker thangas - power cars , but EVs are n’t yet capable of run quicker . Our little zero to 60 scenario is a expert example . petrol cars do have aperformance advantagewhen those top velocity are being have for longer periods of time .
A2015 Fortune articlefeatured former Tesla engine driver Dustin Grace , who provided a serious overview . galvanising vehicles generate much more torque than gas vehicles , which is important because torsion is what drives the fomite forward . Furthermore , an galvanising auto ’s motoreliminates the needfor a traditional transmitting in many forward-looking designs . The force goes straight to the wheels for instant acceleration , piddle electron volt quicker on the start .
In a gas - powered car , the engine has to route the power first to the contagion and then to the bike ( the components collectively known as the " drivetrain " or " powertrain " ) . This process takes longer , lay waste to essential zero to 60 potency . Some of the power created by the engine — usuallyabout 15 percentage — is also wasted traveling through the drivetrain , known as drivetrain loss .
Efficiency Equals Horsepower
If you ’re comparing anelectric carand a gun auto with the same horsepower rating , the galvanizing railway car is able to use a spate more of its horsepower , too . That ’s because EVs havefewer moving parts , so they ’re able to extend more efficiently . ( Efficiency is n’t found purely in terms of fuel consumption ; the fomite ’s speed and legerity are affected , too . ) This also makeselectric machine chintzy to run over clock time by reducing engine maintenance costs .
The instant torque and the simplified powertrain arethe two factorsthat enable an galvanising fomite to take off from a full point much faster than a gas fomite of comparable power eyeglasses . That ’s how Tesla and other electric supercars reach zero to 60 times of just two or three arcsecond .
Tesla does n’t leave horsepower ratings , butRoad and Trackused a machine name a dynamometer to essay a top - remainder 2017 Model S P100D with the Ludicrous Speed upgrade . They got a reading of 588 horsepower at the wheels ( which , again , is passably less than it would be rated if tested at the engine ) .
WhenMotor Trend route - testedthe Tesla Model S P100D in 2017 , the magazine had never seen a zero to 60 escape in less than 2.3 seconds . But the Tesla come up in at 2.275 minute , which at the metre made it the quickest stock output vehicle ever . However , as Frank Markus atMotor Trend explained , if that Tesla was racing against a Ferrari LaFerrari , Porsche 918 or McLaren P1 , those three gas - powered supercars would watch up to the Tesla and pull ahead within second .
If Ferrari or McLaren are a footling outside your budget , a gas - power car like the2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat , with its 840 - horsepower supercharged 6.2 - liter V8 locomotive , vaunt a top pep pill of 203 mph ( 326.6 kilometers per hour ) and a zero to 60 clock time of 3.4 seconds .
The Transmission Disadvantage
In terms of zero to 60 times , galvanising cars currently have the big reward . However , the EV manufacture is realise that their cars need to sustain that public presentation over the long haulage , which leads usback to the transmission .
For all of the enthusiasm surrounding EV ’s performance and efficiency thanks to the absence seizure of a traditionaltransmission , some engineers are actually working on new transmission designs specifically for electric cars . That ’s because the deficiency of one keeps the EV ’s top stop number slower than it otherwise would be .
A well - designed contagion , specifically for an EV , would act as a sort of intermediator to help manage the elevator car ’s force delivery , as well as the battery range . This would make it possible to drive at fast speeds for longer periods of time while still wasting less energy . loosely , the batteries on electric gondola top out at about 250 to 310 geographical mile ( 402 to 498 kilometers ) , but an advanced contagion aim could help extend that range of a function . The cay is to keep it simple , intervening only enough to make the car as good at fast speeds as it is at low speeding .
accord toThe Drive , there are indication that Tesla is working on a new galvanizing transmission , thanks to a contrive 1.9 - minute zero to 60 time for the upcomingTesla runabout . But for now , the 2.3 - second Model S will have to do .
