This DIY ‘Tesla Roadster’ Built From A Vauxhall Only Cost $25K
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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- Join Jerome as he travels across the UK to meet exceptional builders like Charlie Smurthwaite, who created his own ‘Tesla Roadster’ from a Vauxhall VX220, sharing the same Lotus platform. Charlie has fully converted this car to electric, making it his everyday ride.
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#electricconversion #vauxhall #teslaroadster
Having owned and loved two VX220 turbos, I have often wondered what a remake of the original Tesla Roadster would be like. I know this car was done on a budget, but a current Model 3 motor and the latest batteries, would surely give you incredible performance and 250 miles + range. If I remember rightly, the VX had a slightly longer wheelbase than the Elise, Lotus used this chassis to make the Europa that used the Vauxhall Turbo unit and a 6 speed g/box. Its a shame that the current owners of Lotus have gone for larger chassis these days and have left the market of smaller Sports Cars behind. There's even an SUV FFS! Colin Chapman must be turning in his grave!
this and a smart roadster where my dream cars, now I want an EV VX220 and an EV roadster
I have a roadster and would love to convert. Such a fun car to drive
I used to have a yellow vx220. Naturally aspirated. It was a fun car. I bought it second hand and it came with the hardtop.
always hankered after a 220, however age and arthritis suddenly catching up, so having to enjoy this vicariously.
0-60 4.5 is the perfect performance. Only real improvements I would like for a Mk2, would be modern batteries providing nearer 250 summer miles, transmission lifting more out of harms way (back lane crowns would be impossible with present height) balancing more weight to front as necessary and acceleration torque lasting to c 70mph :)
Perfect choice of car for conversion, looking particularly stunning in these interior / exterior colours
Shame 50kwh charge not practical for longer trips, 7kwh fine for home.
30 yrs ago I would have loved this :)
Well done, nice project and for keeping original appearance everywhere
Now replicate in MK2 guise for £23k selling price and make space for disorderly queue ;)
You lost quite a bit of clearance there!
My NA bottoms out anyway occasionally, so it must be a smooth road only vehicle.
NA should be just 800kgs (814 here)
Very cool conversion though.
very nice build and cool car
very very nice beautiful car and sounds like a good conversion. Would love to own it, but I bet it costs more than a new ev. btw, I converted a porsche boxster.
If someone is into EVs I totally get the idea of a conversion from an ICE powered vehicle (ie: the ride, smoothness of a Rolls Royce makes perfect sense).
What I can’t understand is taking a 2 seat sports car whose strengths are based on its handling and lightness have that taken away with the weight penalty of batteries etc for a mere increase of 50bhp (in short reducing the power to weight ratio and destroying the handling).
We pay a lot more for fuel in the UK.
@@Chungleas I know, I live here! We also pay a lot for electricity and using public chargers (74p per kWh) I imagine this conversion costs a lot to run much less the time needed re: frequent charging if it’s driven enthusiastically (as it’s designed to be).
In short, nice project but not too practical. I’d definitely take a factory standard VX220 every time.
So it's gone from 6.3bhp/kg to about 5.3bhp/kg, which is not a massive change. It also probably has a far better torque curve now than the original NA 2.0 version.
No one says you've 'destroyed the handling' when you take a 100kg passenger for a ride.
Honestly I would love a 1050kg EV.
@@ad_fletch Yeah each to their own, not for me but an interesting project. That said, I would like to experience a lightweight 2 seat sports EV one day to compare it to something like an MX5 or GT86 when someone comes to market with such a car.
Was built @ hethel by lotus for opel using opel ecotec powertrain that lotus initially developed for GM…
You're a clever man Charlie. Well done!!!
Great car and awesome build! 👏👏👏
Vauxhall VX220/Opel Speedster i loved that car in NeedForSpeed HP2 Game :D i never gotten to have driver licence but if i did id love to have the speedster, even a extremly cheap one that needs work on :D i dodnt know how the speedster is to use and drive and yes i know oåpel has rep on cheap,etc but i remember opel astra f was really nice car especially the stearing, funny thing i had to sit on the hood/bonet while my brother driving back wards up a steep snowy/iced road in west norway lol to get the front wheels tracktion hehe, but it was stabel with 1,7tdi Caravan with isusu engine and we adjusted the turbo preasure too so that id really go fast, but sadly they rust fas especially over back wheels and where the tank is :D
Great build, he should do Audi TT or Porsche Cayman or Toyota GT 86 next :)
GT86 build right here also ;-) ruclips.net/video/vlBujal9D_U/видео.html&ab_channel=OutofSpecRenew
Cool car
The whole video seems like the cameraman is running away from the owner
;-)
This was called the poor mans Lotus back in the days (but with a smile, so no bad feelings). But I remember Elon Musk say it was a big fail, since they needed to modify the whole car making it simpler in afterthought to just make a new car.
Well if there's one thing self declared genius Elon Musk is actually an expert in, it's failure.
@@exasperated so how many Rockets have you sent to space?
what was the kilowatt of batteries...and range....I went back and rewatched....I must keep missing it.
20kWh of battery, 80-90 miles of range.
20kw and about 60 miles 😉
@@Mobile_Dom 80 miles is very optimistic
@@Ignacio.Romero It does only weight 1,000kg
Vauxhall and Lotus... 💀
What’s wrong with keeping the engine!?
There are loads of VX220s with an engine.
When they go bang, they get written off as its too expensive to buy a new one and pay someone to swap it in. Insurance companies dont care its old as far as they are concerned, and anything older than 10 years old they dont really want it on the road. Secondhand value is still quite low so ideal for a conversion.
@@pkf4124 For starters they are pretty reliable engines and secondly both the 2.2L N/A and the 2.0L Turbo are common engines and not expensive to buy. The second hand value of a VX220 is quite high for a 20+ year old car, £10k to over £20k depending on condition.
Insurance?
Shame no photos of the building.
I do wonder if the Lotus chassis makes a poor start for fitting batteries where best located
The battery in the Tesla Roadster was where the fuel tank was positioned ie behind the seats and ahead of the motor
Umm that need a skid plate or to be raised up ..
Pontiac Solstice?
Not really. The Solstice is pretty much the successor of this. The European equivalent of that would be the Opel GT. Those sit on a GM platform whilst this one has the chassis of the Lotus Elise as mentioned in the video.
The Soltice weighs about 50% more than the normally aspirated VX220.
Regen braking?
Don’t all evs have regen ?
@@davidspendlove5900 Most do, but some home-built Evs are running DC Motors - which don't provide Regen.
Only 25k? Lol
Nice, but I would remove the Vauxhall grille etc.
Why? Its a Vauxhall! I've owned two Vauxhall VX220 turbos and they are without doubt in the top 5 British sports cars ever made and the best petrol powered cars I've ever owned. Vauxhall also made what is considered to be the world's first sports car, the Vauxhall Prince Henry. Just because some fuzzy haired w⚓ on tv used to give them a hard time, is no reason to remove Vauxhall badges from your Vauxhall.
The most awkward interview I've ever seen
you're welcome ;-)
Clever bloke but bit of a pointless conversion other than to gain experience. would be a lot better with some more batteries in the front to fix the weight distribution/power/range problems.
Also he quoted stock weight as 950kg, but that would be for a turbo thats fully wet with driver. The n/a versions weigh a shade over 800kg (almost) dry. So this should still weigh well under a ton.
Kerb weight does not include driver, any passengers or cargo but does include a full tank of fuel.
Death trap shouldnt be on the car
???