Latest news with #Roadster
Times
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Times
The Aston Martin Vantage Roadster — it's the car of the summer
Aston Martin's relentless release of models shows no signs of slowing down. Last year it introduced the new, more focused Vantage. Representing the current first rung of Aston Martin ownership, it is somewhat amusingly seen as the brand's entry-level car. Just in time for summer it has launched the open-top Roadster version of the Vantage, with prices from £181,000. In the past even Aston Martin's sportiest cars veered more towards a big grand tourer feel. The sharp and sporty Vantage, particularly the latest version, puts that notion to bed. The Vantage Roadster is being launched as Aston Martin celebrates 75 years of convertible cars — it first offered the soft-top version of the DB2 in 1950. In Aston Martin parlance, the open-topped DB models are referred to as Volantes, while the Roadster badge is reserved for convertible Vantage models. This Vantage Roadster was engineered alongside the coupé from the outset as a potential convertible, meaning Aston Martin didn't have to take a figurative can opener to a car not initially conceived as a drop-top. Consequently the Roadster is essentially identical to the coupé, aside from the fabric roof, with only the header rail slightly reduced in height. As a result, the weight penalty for the Roadster over the coupé is a mere 60kg — barely noticeable to most drivers. Performance figures are also broadly indistinguishable from those of the hard top, and with an eight-layer fabric folding roof featuring insulated glass, it provides a quiet interior experience similar to that of the coupé. It's hard not to argue that this version of the Vantage is the one to opt for. The roof folding mechanism is currently the fastest on the market — and taking only six seconds at speeds of up to 31mph, this is a real bonus, as it encourages you to use the convertible roof more regularly, even for short trips. In contrast, risking opening a slower roof on another brand's convertible, taking about 30 seconds, is a real gamble at the traffic lights, with the awkward prospect of having to pull away with the pramlike folded roof embarrassingly halfway open. Aston Martin has also been refining the interior of the Vantage in response to customer feedback — a commendable move when a brand is willing to address sensible criticism. The interior was already a significant improvement over the previous Vantage. Still, the new Roadster version features clearer, more legible instrument graphics and, mercy of mercies, a one-touch button on the centre console that disables all of the interventions of the sometimes annoying ADAS systems (such as lane change alert, speed limit warnings, etc) that new cars are now required to start with. Expect that to be the most worn-out button on this Vantage. These upgrades will also be seen on all new coupés. You can be sniffy about its use of a Mercedes AMG-sourced engine, but most owners will be more than happy that their car is powered by such a reliable, capable and tried-and-tested motor. You would not go as far as to describe it as emotive — turbos and emission regulations putting paid to that — but it's more than up for the job, and this is a seriously rapid car with 656bhp from that twin-turbo V8 unit. Laughably, with the enormous power hike across the range, this is the least powerful Aston Martin you can purchase. It may be the baby Aston, but it's very much a case of nobody puts baby in the corner with a top speed of over 200mph. This is a sophisticated and striking vehicle that its rivals will be worried about. The hard-top coupé remains an option for those purists who scoff at soft tops or wish to emulate the Vantage F1 Safety Car that plies its trade on racing circuits around the globe. However, the sensible choice has to be the Roadster version of the Vantage. Thanks to its engineering integrity, this convertible offers the advantages of a split personality, allowing it to function both as a hardcore sports car and a stylish boulevard cruiser… however the mood takes you.
India.com
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- India.com
Tesla launched in India! but Elon Musk wasn't founder of company, it was started by…, how worlds richest man became owner of Tesla?
Global EV giant Tesla officially made its entry in India on Tuesday with the launch of its first experience centre at the Maker Maxity Commercial Complex, in Bandra Kurla Complex experience centre was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the presence of other dignitaries. Tesla has made its India debut at a time when it is facing reduced sales in Europe and China. When the dream of Tesla was born, electric cars were still considered futuristic concepts. Today, however, Tesla has revolutionized the automobile industry with the help of energy, artificial intelligence, and even space technology. Tesla is now seen as one of the world's most innovative companies. Who Founded Tesla? The name 'Tesla' immediately brings the image of Elon Musk in everyone's mind. In fact, Musk is now almost a synonym with the brand. But surprisingly, he wasn't the founder of Tesla. He entered the company as an investor. Whenever the world talks about electric vehicles (EVs), Tesla comes in tops the list. But Elon Musk didn't start this company but two engineers did. Tesla began on July 1, 2003, when engineers Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning co-founded Tesla Motors. Their goal was to create an electric car that wouldn't harm the environment the way petrol or diesel vehicles do. Being engineers, they were very much passionate about technology. At the time, their vision of EVs was considered highly impractical. But the duo stayed committed to their idea and named the company in honor of the great inventor Nikola Tesla, who discovered alternating current (AC). From the beginning, Tesla wanted to build emission-free, fast, and stylish electric vehicles. Musk's Entry In Tesla The story took a major turn in 2004 with the entry of Elon Musk. By then, Musk had already made a name for himself as the founder of SpaceX and PayPal. In Tesla's Series A funding round, Musk invested $6.5 million and became the Chairman. Gradually, Musk took over responsibilities related to product design, vision, and marketing. In 2008, when Tesla was on the brink of bankruptcy, Musk emerged as its savior by taking over as CEO. Though initially just an investor, Musk became Tesla's CEO and later even acquired the title of co-founder. Eberhard had filed a defamation lawsuit against Musk, but in 2009, the verdict went in Musk's favor. Tesla's First Car In 2008, Tesla launched its first car, the Roadster. It was a high-performance sports car that was fully electric. It could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds and offered a 320 km range on a single charge. The Roadster broke the myth that electric cars had to be slow or boring as it was fast, and powerful. In fact, Musk even launched his own Roadster into space aboard a SpaceX rocket in 2018. That car is still orbiting the Earth today. Tesla's Journey Musk later created a strategy for Tesla called S3XY, which included the following models: Model S: A luxury sedan. Model 3: Launched in 2017 as Tesla's first 'affordable' car, opening the doors for middle-class consumers. Model X: Launched in 2015, a family SUV with falcon-wing doors and high-tech interiors. Model Y: A compact SUV.
India.com
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- India.com
How two engineers created Elon Musk's Tesla car that is making the world go crazy
How two engineers created Elon Musk's Tesla car that is making the world go crazy | Full story of Tesla BMW, Mercedes, Rolls-Royce, Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar – these brands were something which masses used to connect with luxuious driving. Then came 2004 when the founder of companies like SpaceX and PayPal, Elon Musk, entered the car segment, thus giving birth to Tesla. And now, for Indians it has become a dream which everyone wishes to fulfill. Today, on July 15, Tesla's first showroom opened in Mumbai's BKC and with this the brand made its debut in India. It will also be interesting to see who will be Tesla's first customer in India. How this dream started? Whenever there is talk of electric vehicles (EVs) in the world, Tesla's name will be on top. But do you know this company was not started by Elon Musk but someone else? Yes. Tesla started on 1 July 2003 when two engineers Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning laid the foundation of Tesla Motors. Both wanted to start the company with the aim of making an electric car that would not harm the environment like petrol and diesel cars. Since both were engineers, their craze for technology was also natural. When both of them dreamt of EV, it was considered very impractical. Both of them started the company and named it in honor of the great scientist Nikola Tesla who had discovered AC current. Initially, both of them had kept Tesla's vision as pollution free, fast and stylish EV. When did Musk enter? It was in 2004 when Elon Musk, who had already become famous at that time as the founder of companies like SpaceX and PayPal, entered. Musk invested $6.5 million in the Series A funding round and became the chairman of the company. Gradually, Musk took the responsibility of Tesla's product design, vision and marketing in his hands. In 2008, when Tesla was almost bankrupt, Musk became its savior through his investment. Tesla's first car was a Roadster In 2008, Tesla launched its first car – Roadster. It was a high-performance sports car, which was completely electric. This car could achieve a speed of 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds. Ability to run up to 320 kilometers on a single charge. Roadster proved that electric cars can also be sexy, fast and powerful. Musk sent his Roadster into space in 2018 through a SpaceX rocket. Even today that car is orbiting the Earth.
Miami Herald
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Tesla's 'Most Epic Demo Ever' Is Happening This Year
This year has already been yet another rollercoaster ride for Tesla, but some important steps have been made. The refreshed Model Y has arrived, as have the updated Model S and X, and robotaxis have begun operating in Austin. Now, company CEO Elon Musk has taken to his social media site, X, to announce that Tesla plans to show off something special by the end of the year. "Just left the Tesla design studio," Musk wrote. "Most epic demo ever by end of year. Ever." So what could he be talking about? The fact that Musk teased this demonstration after visiting the Tesla design studio indicates that he saw something relating to a new product, not an update or refresh of an existing one. As noted above, every EV Tesla sells except the Cybertruck has already been updated, and we doubt the slow-selling pickup is going to be restyled anytime soon. Thus, speculation has run rife that Tesla is preparing the new Roadster. Musk has often made outlandish claims of what the Tesla Roadster will be capable of, and his proclamation that the "most epic demo ever" is coming would certainly be applicable if his earlier promises come to fruition. Let's recap some of those claims, but bear in mind that Tesla doesn't only make cars... Elon Musk has previously claimed that the Roadster will feature "alien technology" by incorporating rocket thrusters using innovations from one of his other companies, SpaceX, which has also been claimed to be providing a "cold gas thruster system with ultra high-pressure air," which is supposedly able to allow the Roadster to fly, or at least hover. Another wild claim once made was that 0-60 mph would be possible in under a second. All of these promises would certainly fit the bill of "epic" if they are realized. But let's temper our expectations for now; we don't even know if Musk is talking about the Roadster - his posts could refer to the Optimus humanoid robot. Musk has long talked up the potential use cases of the robot, and with notable advancements in xAI's Grok (alongside unforgettably offensive posts, it must be noted), Tesla's CEO may be teasing that the pair will become practical assistants that interact with the physical world. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Business Standard
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- Business Standard
Ola Electric Mobility surges after net loss narrows to Rs 420 cr in Q1 FY26
Ola Electric Mobility rallied 16.15% to Rs 41.64 after the company's consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 420 crore in Q1 FY26 as against net loss of Rs 870 crore in Q4 FY25. Revenue from operations jumped 35.52% QoQ to Rs 828 crore in Q1 FY25. Year on year basis, the companys consolidated net loss widened from Rs 347 crore while revenue from operations fell by 49.64% in Q1 FY26. Pre-tax loss stood at Rs 428 crore in Q1 FY26 compared with pre-tax loss of Rs 324 crore in Q1 FY25. The company reported negative EBITDA of Rs 237 crore in Q1 FY26, higher than the negative EBITDA of Rs 205 crore recorded in Q1 FY25. Deliveries declined 45.53% to 68,192 units in Q1 FY26 from 1,25,198 units in Q1 FY25. In auto segment, gross margin (GM) was 25.6% despite PLI contribution being only 1.8% as Gen 3 scooters and bikes will get certification in Q2 and Q3 respectively. The company aims to achieve a gross margin (GM) of 3540% by the end of FY26, supported by PLI benefits amounting to approximately Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000 per vehicle. The company said that Almost 80% of our scooters sold are now Gen 3 products. Gen 3 is a significantly superior product on performance and quality, leading to higher GM and lesser warranty claims. It will continue to have both Gen 2 and Gen 3 in the market for the foreseeable future. The Roadster rollout is also scaling up. In addition, for the last couple of years, we have been developing rare earth free motors. We accelerated this program in April when the rare earth cuts happened and have already productionised our rare earth free motors which will be coming into our products starting next quarter. These motors ensure no business continuity risk, are parity in performance and save money as rare earth magnets are costly, the company stated in regulatory filing. The company said that it is now ready and producing cells that are going to be used in its vehicles. These vehicle deliveries will be starting this Navratri. It expects to fully utilize the 1.4 GWh capacity by the end of FY26, while initiating the installation of the remaining capacity to reach 5 GWh and scaling up consumption to 5 GWh through FY27. On outlook front, the company expects FY26 volumes to be around 3,25,000 - 3,75,000 vehicles and revenue to be around Rs 4200 - 4700 crore. It sees strong momentum in new products - Gen 3 scooters and the Roadster bike leading into the festive season. Q1 Auto GM of 25.6% was largely without PLI. Starting Q2, the company expects to receive PLI benefits, supporting its targeted exit GM of 3540% for FY26. With operating costs expected to remain largely flat, auto EBITDA should be more than 5% for the whole year. For Q2, It expects auto EBITDA to turn positive and the auto business to generate operating cash flow later in FY26. For the cell business, the company said that it will be completing the 5GWh installation and most of the payouts of about Rs 1,000 crore this year. 70% of this will be financed from the existing term loan. The cell business will be FCF positive at the production scale of 5GWh by the end of FY27. Ola Electric Mobility is a leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in India, specializing in the vertical integration of technology and manufacturing for EVs and their components, including battery cells.
