Tesla’s Self-Parking Car Slows Down For Signs

 

The new model can hit 60mph in 3.2 seconds and will come to you when you summon it, the California company reveals.

 

Electric car maker Tesla has lifted the lid on a new two-engined model with “insane” acceleration and self-parking capability.

Tesla boss Elon Musk said the new D version of the Model S is also able to automatically decelerate when it sees speed limit signs.

Volvo has a system that reads signs and tells drivers if they are going too fast – but does not adjust the speed.

The four-wheel drive, full-electric car features an engine in the front and one in the rear.

Tesla claims the top-of-the-line model hits 60mph in 3.2 seconds with a top speed of 155mph.

“This car is nuts. It’s like taking off from a carrier deck,” Mr Musk told reporters – but the performance does not come cheap – prices for the P85D start at $120,000 (£75,000)

The improved safety features are seen as an attempt to win over customers who live in more inclement conditions than the firm enjoys at its California base.

Released in 2012, the original Model S was a hit with motoring experts and won awards including car of the year from America’s Automobile magazine.

The upgraded car’s radar can scan the road in front in “fog, snow and sand” to sense potential danger.

It can also change lanes by itself if the driver uses the indicator and the company claims owners will be able to summon the car remotely on private property

“It will come to you wherever you are,” said Musk. “It will slowly make its way to you.”

The South-African-born entrepreneur, who is also heading up the Space X project, said having two engines would not slow the car down.

“You can dynamically shift the power from rear to front and constantly be at the optimal efficiency of both motors, so we actually overcome the penalty of the increased mass.”

A surge in the company’s share price has seen Tesla rack up a $30bn (£19bn) valuation.

The company is also working on a 4×4 model and a cheaper car to try to tempt drivers who may see electric cars as a fad or likely to run out of power.

In a sign of its ambitions, it also announced plans last month to build the world’s largest lithium-ion battery plant in Nevada.

Electric and hybrid cars only have 1.9% of sales in the UK, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

But figures released this month show sales are more than 50% up on this time last year, with 37,842 “alternatively-fuelled vehicles” sold so far in 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:http://news.sky.com/story/1350791/teslas-self-parking-car-slows-down-for-signs