Wednesday 7th November 2018

Ares to build Tesla Model S Roadster

How hard is it to make a drop-top version of an all-electric saloon? Ares is about to find out

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It was probably only a matter of time before a design house went and lopped the roof off a Tesla Model S. This is the go-to model for companies wanting big exposure, of course - just ask Qwest in Norfolk or London-based RemetzCar, who've both made estate versions. But making a convertible version of Tesla's four-door saloon is, in engineering terms, a much, much bigger challenge. You're removing a vast amount of structural material, for starters. Little surprise that it's taken a few years for a design house to step up to the challenge.

Modena-based Ares Design, the firm to take on the task, has released an early sketch of its Model S Roadster to illustrate what it wants to make. Visible are two rear buttresses, frameless windows and a more prominent rear bumper. There are also five-spoke alloy wheels beneath swelled wheels arches, the front pair of which look to feature rear vents. Or perhaps that's just a brush stroke.

We'll leave the discussion as to whether it's a good look or not up to you, but there's no denying it's unique. And certainly far less offensive on the eye than another attempt at a drop-top Tesla.

Will Ares uprate the car's electric powertrain? Although the firm does occasionally boost the performance of its models, going so far as boring out the Lamborghini V10 engine of its Panther supercar by 400cc, there's a strong chance it'll leave the Model S's drivetrain as it is. It's not like anyone's ever complained of a Model S being particularly underpowered, plus improvements in EV output inevitably hinder range.

[simonrockman]

Good grief, it's not even a decent CAD render, looks like the kind of sketch people who can draw do in the back of their geography books.

[98elise]

Already been done...

https://www.teslarati.com/first-tesla-model-s-conv...

As the battery is in the floor it seems very dodgy to remove the roof and let the battery take the forces in a crash!

[kambites]

98elise said:

As the battery is in the floor it seems very dodgy to remove the roof and let the battery take the forces in a crash!

The battery is in the floor but it's not structural. I suppose there's the risk of the floor-pan folding up in a crash and crushing the batteries but if that happens I think the occupants have more to worry about than a battery fire.

[DoubleD]

I wonder if they will do something about the bland looking front end of the car?

[98elise]

kambites said:

98elise said:

As the battery is in the floor it seems very dodgy to remove the roof and let the battery take the forces in a crash!

The battery is in the floor but it's not structural. I suppose there's the risk of the floor-pan folding up in a crash and crushing the batteries but if that happens I think the occupants have more to worry about than a battery fire.

I know the battery isn't structural but the roof is. With that gone the floor is going to be very bendy, especially in an impact.

[tr3a]

DoubleD said:

I wonder if they will do something about the bland looking front end of the car?

Surely they won't, since it's the best looking bit. It's a brilliant middle finger to all those relics that are so inefficient they need a great big stonking grille to house the radiator that dissipates the heat of 70% of the dinosaur juice they burn.

[DoubleD]

tr3a said:

DoubleD said:

I wonder if they will do something about the bland looking front end of the car?

Surely they won't, since it's the best looking bit. It's a brilliant middle finger to all those relics that are so inefficient they need a great big stonking grille to house the radiator that dissipates the heat of 70% of the dinosaur juice they burn.

Is it? Or does it just look like a bland korean car?

[selym]

DoubleD said:

tr3a said:

DoubleD said:

I wonder if they will do something about the bland looking front end of the car?

Surely they won't, since it's the best looking bit. It's a brilliant middle finger to all those relics that are so inefficient they need a great big stonking grille to house the radiator that dissipates the heat of 70% of the dinosaur juice they burn.

Is it? Or does it just look like a bland korean car?

Yeah, I'd go with the bland Korean car option. Full marks to TR3a for attempting to get some backs up, but it's a brilliqnt middle finger to spending more than an hour on designing the front end.

[kambites]

I really like the styling of the Model-S. Can't stand all the gaping vents and slashes most manufacturers cover their cars with these days.

The Model-3, not so much.

[Mackofthejungle]

kambites said:

I really like the styling of the Model-S. Can't stand all the gaping vents and slashes most manufacturers cover their cars with these days.

Vents and slashes might not make a pretty car, but neither does 5 meters of un-vented metal. The Tesla's are enormous, featureless blobs.

[kambites]

Mackofthejungle said:

Vents and slashes might not make a pretty car, but neither does 5 meters of un-vented metal. The Tesla's are enormous, featureless blobs.

Each to their own. For me no modern cars are really attractive the Tesla is amongst the least bad.

[selym]

Jelly mould.

[DoubleD]

For me, Tesla have committed the biggest crime of creating a car that looks so bland. Even ugly would be better.

[anonymous-user]

DoubleD said:

I wonder if they will do something about the bland looking front end of the car?

EFA

[kambites]

DoubleD said:

For me, Tesla have committed the biggest crime of creating a car that looks so bland. Even ugly would be better.

I can certainly see that side of the argument and indeed have used it myself in the past... but things like the 7-series are just so monumentally ugly that I think in this case I'd prefer bland. Especially in a car which is very much a white-goods vehicle - it's not really meant to be shouty.

[anonymous-user]

kambites said:

I can certainly see that side of the argument and indeed have used it myself in the past... but things like the 7-series are just so monumentally ugly that I think in this case I'd prefer bland. Especially in a car which is very much a white-goods vehicle - it's not really meant to be shouty.

I can't think of a more bland car than a Tesla, it's horrible (despite it's clever battery)

[kambites]

yonex said:

I can't think of a more bland car than a Tesla, it's horrible (despite it's clever battery)

Each to their own. Personally I wouldn't buy a big saloon car with "interesting" in mind.

[anonymous-user]

kambites said:

Each to their own. Personally I wouldn't buy a big saloon car with "interesting" in mind.

Quattroporte, BMW M5, Giulia?

Obviously pears and dates but quite why Tesla make a techno marvel look like a mid 2000's taxi is beyond me.

[Baldchap]

Is it me, or do people who will never factor in the success or otherwise of a motor have the strongest opinions?

[whp1983]

Quite clever design as Tesla can’t afford to change body shape like everyone else every 5-7 years.... keeping it bland and inoffensive also helps avoid it looking dated for a little longer.