The amazing British-built Tesla Roadster officially went on sale yesterday for a price of £92,000 / $184,000. The high-performance eco sports car has a top speed of 125mph and can do 0-60 in just 3.9 seconds.

The car is entirely electric, virtually silent and runs on a 185kw electric motor with power supplied by batteries stored in the rear. Those batteries hold enough power to get you 220 miles, after which, a three hour charge is in order.

Tesla, a US company, already has 1,100 orders for the car in America and it is believed that green proponents George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon are on that list (in case you’re interested).

It is a great achievement by the Silicon Valley startup who only began back in July 2006. They should be applauded for developing a real-world production model of a high-performance electric car that is virtually indistinguishable from its fuel-guzzling cousins. Tesla has refused to add artificial noise to the car, the silence being about the only way you can tell that it’s electric from the street (see videos below).

Apparently the company is not stopping there, either. They are developing a four-door family vehicle that will be more affordable, through a secret big-time manufacturer. I’ll keep you updated.

Sources:
DailyMail and Tesla Motors