Turbodiesel Tesla goes 2500 km between stops. Picture: Warped Perception.
WATCH: Some crazy soul built a turbodiesel Tesla Model S
Turbodiesel Tesla puts the RANGE in range extender, going 2 500 km between stops.
Turbodiesel Tesla goes 2500 km between stops. Picture: Warped Perception.
Whoever thought up this turbodiesel Tesla, clearly wanted to build the ultimate diesel hybrid. And what better base car to explore your range-extension aspirations than with the ultimate EV, a Tesla Model S.
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In philosophy it’s a perfectly sane, if slightly contradictory, car build. Electric vehicles (EVs) have come a long way from the BMW i3 and Nissan Leaf, but limited range is still an issue. As is range anxiety. Not knowing where your next recharge will come from if you’re out in the wild.
This builder from a YouTube channel called Warped Perception wants his Tesla to break free from the confines of charging stations. That’s why the concept of a range extender is still such a valid one, reports our colleagues at CarBuzz.
TURBODIESEL TESLA: HERE IT IS
They have fitted a turbodiesel range extender to a Tesla Model S P85D. The result is a cruising range of 2 500 km between stops.
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The coolest part of the build, arguably, is that there’s very little aesthetic care given. This is a functional excercise. The diesel is externally visible. Sadly, one obvious drawback of turbodiesel propulsion did arise, the common-rail diesel is much noisier than the usually silent Tesla EV.
FORGET ABOUT RANGE ANXIETY
One of the reasons the Kohler engine remained externally visible was packaging and cooling. As you’ll see in the video, it did experience overheating issues, which resulted in much slower recharging of the batteries by the onboard generator.
The builder reckons the turbodiesel Tesla was only operating at 80% efficiency during its 2 500 km journey on a single tank of diesel. But that journey is still might impressive.
Ever the innovators, the guys behind the Warped Perception YouTube channel are now contemplating a supercharged rotary engine in the next version of their range-extender Tesla Model S. This will solve the noise issue and arguably fit the concept of the already streamlined vehicle.
They’re clearly taking a leaf out of Mazda’s book, who have introduced a rotary-powered range extender in some of their EVs.
