Tesla High-Performance Electric Sportscar
A Unique Vehicle Presents Unique Engineering Challenges
Tesla selected MIRA to help develop
several key attributes of their high-end electric sportscar,
ensuring the vehicle broke new ground
for both efficiency and performance.
Aerodynamics
MIRA's aerodynamicists used Computational Fluids Dynamics (CFD)
early in the development cycle
to manipulate the styling. The aim of this approach is to reduce costs by eliminating the number of prototypes required for wind-tunnel
testing. The
CFD analysis ensured the three primary
characteristics – lift, sideforce and drag –
were crafted to deliver the best high-speed
handling and the longest range.
Climate Control System
The aerodynamic development also ensured the
vital cooling flows required by the HVAC
system’s condenser (at the front) was optimised
to minimise the ‘cooling drag’, whilst properly managing the thermal characteristics
for overall system performance and
reliability. Once the prototype phase had
commenced, the HVAC performance was
confirmed in one of MIRA’s Climatic Wind
Tunnels.
The climatic tunnels are able to
simulate all global environments, from arid
desert to Arctic cold, thereby removing the requirement to await important weather windows at key locations around the globe.
This shortens the vehicle development
timeline and saves customers money.
Defrost / demist performance evaluation in MIRA's vehicle climatic chamber.
Durability
Finally the roadster was subjected to a
punishing durability schedule on MIRA’s
specialised proving ground surfaces. Accelerated durability testing provides customers with the knowledge that the new
vehicle will last for hundreds of thousands of miles, without having to wait for a fleet of
test vehicles to actually complete such marathon journeys.
Further details of MIRA's involvement with Tesla and details of this remarkable car are covered in the following article extracted from 'M'; MIRA's customer newsletter:
Developing the world's first production electric sportscar pdf (432KB)
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