Tesla — the company responsible for the all-electric Roadster sports car — will offer two versions of its upcoming Whitestar sedan: an all-electric model and a range-extending model similar to the Chevrolet Volt. The range-extending model — dubbed REV — will use a small gasoline engine to recharge Whitestar’s battery pack.
“It is more than research. We intend to have it as part of the offering,” Tesla CEO Ze’ev Drori said. “The Whitestar can be all-electric or it can be an REV.”
The EV Whitestar sedan is expected to travel between 150 and 200 miles before it needs to be recharged, but the REV Whitestar would be able to travel about twice that far. The REV model would be able to travel 40 to 50 miles on a charge, after which the gas engine would turn on to recharge the battery pack.
The Whitestar REV could even beat the Chevrolet Volt to market as the California-based automaker plans to have the vehicle to market by late 2009. However, the Whitestar REV will command a hefty premium over the Chevy Volt as it is expected to compete with BMW . Prices for the Whitestar REV have yet to be set, but are expected to be in the neighborhood of $50,000 to $70,000.
