Electric SuperCar For Recession-Proof Rich Guys

Take a sports car, add a dollop of Bruce Wayne and a generous helping of James Bond, and you might have an idea what it's like to drive the Tesla Roadster.

The electric super-car, unveiled in '06, is impressive by any conventional measure. Years later, the two-seater is still one of just a handful of electric cars on the road that can hold its own alongside any gas-powered challenger -- and is by far one of the most stylish of the bunch.

Tesla's Roadsters carry a steep base price of $109,000, limiting the car's appeal in these times. But it's always nice to dream. The company said it has delivered more than 250 of the cars and has about 1,000 customers on its waiting list, all of whom have put down deposits.

The first thing to note is that the Roadster is not a car for most people, or even your typical Porsche enthusiast. It is a car for technology buffs who relish being on the cutting edge. So for venture capitalists and Silicon Valley chief executives, the Roadster does manage to seamlessly blend raw power of a racing machine with the green sensibilities of zero tailpipe emissions.

The car is powered by a massive lithium-ion battery pack, the same technology in laptop computers and cell phones, composed of 6,831 individual cells. The battery, weighing in at about 1,000 pounds, is so big it takes up most of the car's rear half.

After a four-hour charge, the car has a range of about 220 miles, though this varies based on how it's driven. Because of the battery's weight, Tesla went to great lengths to trim mass elsewhere. The exterior, for example, is made of carbon fiber, which adds to the cost but saves about 300 pounds, bringing the car's total weight to about 2,700 pounds.

Save for two consistent noises, the soft whirring of the electric motor and the gurgling of the battery's coolant system behind the driver's seat, the car is nearly silent.

Like the Toyota Prius, the Roadster has a regenerative braking mechanism that helps improve mileage in city driving.

Tesla Motors hopes to garner more acclaim when it unveils the Model S, an electric sedan that will target more practical buyers and potentially transform the San Carlos, Calif., company from a fringe player to a mainstream automaker. The company expects the Model S to cost less than $50,000, after accounting for a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles.

Whatever the future holds for Tesla, the Roadster offers a glimpse of what's likely on the horizon for an auto industry that is increasingly going electric.

Photos: Getty Images

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.