A Rev Head's Green Dream

The words 'Rev Head' and green car are not natural companions. Until now, most of the machines that car fanatics have lusted over have tended to be of the petrol guzzling variety that leave a huge carbon footprint hanging over the once clear skies of our planet. But all that could be about to change. Tesla Motors could well have come up with a world first – an electric sports car that ticks the looks and performance boxes and is great for the environment.

The Tesla Roadster is a small, neat, really quite revolutionary little electric car. Designed along classic roadster lines it has a curvaceous exterior which comes in a blood pumpingly sexy range of colours, and the hi-tech cockpit that you'd expect in such an auto. However, what is going on under the bonnet is also fairly exciting, because this is an electric sports car – a breed that has yet to be seen on our roads. The Tesla is a truly green vehicle which promises zero carbon emissions, whilst giving a driving experience that has so far been lacking from previous incarnations of the electric car.

So why is the Tesla so hot?

Owning a green car might make you fell all warm and fuzzy inside, but if you have an electric vehicle, the chances are that it doesn't make your heart thump with excitement every time you sit in it as well. In general, there are 3 drawbacks to electric cars:

• They are slow to accelerate and don't have much of a top speed.

• They don't go very far between battery charges and then take ages to recharge.

• They have been designed by people who seem to think that just because you want an eco-friendly vehicle, you must have had a style by-pass.

The Tesla Roadster is a refreshing antidote to these problems. This is an electric car which does 0-60 in less than 4 seconds and offers a top speed of 125mph. It also gives 100% torque from the moment you start it up – something very different to your average petrol fuelled engine – resulting in great acceleration and excellent energy efficiency. The Roadster can go around 220 miles pure charge and has a battery which should go from flat to fully juiced in about 3.5 hours, if you use its Tesla Motors High Power Connector. And then there are its looks. Tesla has seen that there is a gap in the car market for an electric car that James Bond could be seen in and has come up with a pretty good attempt to fill it.

It's a smart move. The success of electric vehicles like the Reva G Wiz overseas have shown that motorists are keen to cut their carbon emissions and drive environmentally friendly cars. There is much interest in fuel-efficient cars, those which run on renewable energies and electric cars. So far, Australians have had little choice but to read reports about electric cars being launched abroad and hope that one day they will be available here, though major motor manufacturers such as Mitsubishi have announced plans to release its i MiEV (innovative Mitsubishi electric vehicle) here in 2010. Whatever the green pedigree of the i MiEV, it is unlikely that it will come close to satisfying the demands of the sports car sector, and this is what currently puts the Tesla Roadster in a league of its own.

How does the Tesla Roadster manage to be so cool?

There are a number of interesting developments that have allowed Tesla Motors to create their great electric hope. Firstly, they've taken the usual heavy, bulky battery pack – the electric cars fuel tank - and changed it for a lithium ion one. This has enabled them to produce a battery which is lighter, more powerful and can go for longer between trips to the power point. Even better, from an eco-friendly perspective, the battery is recyclable.

The Tesla Roadster also has something called regenerative braking technology. Basically, what this means is that braking passes energy back to the battery which again adds to this green vehicles sustainable bonuses. This is also another big advantage over standard cars, given the stop-go, traffic lighted affected nature of modern driving.

Then there is the whole battery recharging system. An electric car may reduce carbon emissions, but if it spends half its life in your garage jacked in to the mains, the glow of saving the environment can become tainted by the inconvenience of actually putting it into practice. The Tesla Roadster is comparatively quick to recharge thanks to its High Power Connector Unit, but what happens when you are taking a trip away from home? Well, the Tesla people have thought of that too, popping an optional Mobile Connector in the boot.

Finally, there is also the exiting news from America that some Tesla owners have taken their pursuit of green motoring of the next level and have installed solar panels, making their electric cars totally carbon zero and giving a driving experience that has absolutely no negative effect on the environment.

When is it our turn?

With all this wonderful news on the electric car front, the only disappointment is that there are no signs of when this innovative little green car will be available in Australia. Sales in the US have been strong enough for the Tesla to set up operations in Canada and parts of Europe, so maybe our time will come. Let's just hope it's not too far off.