Alpha Build

[ckessel]

I'm sad to say I dislike almost every change . It looks bigger. It looks boxier rather than sleek and curved. The rear end and side mirrors really reflect that shift to box/square lines. The front looks downright bad to me now. I much preferred the old one, especially with the prominent Tesla symbol. Had this been the build pictured when I put down my deposit 2 weeks ago, I might not have done it.

 

[vfx]

The black plastic "grill" might be a temp for photography. I would think the would match the cheese grater just like the new Roadster.

I don;t see the fill cap anywhere.

 

[stopcrazypp]

It's not completely final (although likely most of the way there) so there's still hope yet. I think the "boxier" look is mostly from black border around the bottom of the car (which looks unfinished, I'm expecting the final one to be color matched instead).

It seems most people don't like the new grill and the placement of the logo. Perhaps some feedback to Tesla would be in order (seems like they listen to feedback from buyers).

 

[qwk]

About the only things I dislike, are the whiskers in the fog light area holes, and that plastic grille(probably temporary).

 

[Todd Burch]

Guys,

I just realized something. Remember the alpha design videos (3 of them) that Rawlinson starred in about two weeks ago showing some of the alpha internals? The first one (showing the front end of the car) had a heat exchanger in the front center (where the black "nose cone" is in the latest pics. This tells me that most likely that black cap is just temporary...maybe for testing? They might be covering it to test limited air intake. If so, they should've taken it off for the photo ops.

 

[PaulM]

Anybody else find it strange that they didn't show this at the Detroit Auto Show?

 

[qwk]

Anybody else find it strange that they didn't show this at the Detroit Auto Show?

Detroit show is not over?

 

[Tommy]

The first one (showing the front end of the car) had a heat exchanger in the front center (where the black "nose cone" is in the latest pics. This tells me that most likely that black cap is just temporary...maybe for testing? They might be covering it to test limited air intake. If so, they should've taken it off for the photo ops.

And the "black cap" you refer to does not have a flat surface to mount a license plate to as in the displayed prototype. Definitely a faux pas for us that must legally mount our front license plates. I hope you are right; I don't like the "black cap" either

 

[AnOutsider]

Detroit show is not over?

Yes, and perhaps they'll show a version there that's a tad different than what we see here. Some things (like the bottom of the doors) seem to be "rough" here. If so, then I'd imagine they'd put their best foot forward for the show floor.

And the "black cap" you refer to does not have a flat surface to mount a license plate to as in the displayed prototype. Definitely a faux pas for us that must legally mount our front license plates. I hope you are right; I don't like the "black cap" either

I'm hoping, like Audi, that they have a grill WITHOUT plate inserts for the states (like mine) that don't require a front plate.

 

[tomanik]

Finally some good photos. In general I am very happy with the changes in the Alpha. This seems like a nice freshening of the prototype which we have been looking at for almost 2 years now.

 

[Doug_G]

Where is the charge port? I don't see it anywhere.

This was how it looked in the prototype. Here's the alpha video:

Definitely not there.

 

[TEG]

...had a heat exchanger in the front center (where the black "nose cone" is in the latest pics. This tells me that most likely that black cap is just temporary...maybe for testing? They might be covering it to test limited air intake.

I have seen many cars with a small low opening and big radiator behind it. I think you can have airflow squish through a smaller opening and still have it be effective. Especially since the efficiency of an electric motor means that the radiator doesn't have to dissipate a whole lot of waste heat. Personally, I am not so sure that the "cap" is temporary. It seems like it might be a permanent bumper cover. But maybe they are still refining it.

 

[TEG]

Anybody else find it strange that they didn't show this at the Detroit Auto Show?

I recall a comment saying that they wanted to take advantage of the winter weather to get cold weather testing in right now.

Perhaps the car is shipped off to a test track in Sweden or Alaska right now?

 

[qwk]

I recall a comment saying that they wanted to take advantage of the winter weather to get cold weather testing in right now.

Perhaps the car is shipped off to a test track in Sweden or Alaska right now?

I thought there was 6 alphas?

 

[Doug_G]

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/alpha-hits-road

It's hard to tell because of the differences in lighting, but from these pictures they seem to have added some linear "creases" into the design. Perhaps that is to give it more of a sleek "in motion" appearance, but I rather liked the organic curves of the prototype.

Some styling changes might have been made for engineering reasons, not just design, such as the more obvious bumper on the back. Also sometimes very subtle changes in the shape of a sheet metal part can affect its stiffness.

 

[TEG]

Yeah, I don't see a charge port door anywhere. I guess that is our main question now... Where do you plug it in?

 

[Todd Burch]

It's hard to tell because of the differences in lighting, but from these pictures they seem to have added some linear "creases" into the design. Perhaps that is to give it more of a sleek "in motion" appearance, but I rather liked the organic curves of the prototype.

Doug, check out TEG's post (#58) in this thread. The creases look pretty similar to me.

 

[Doug_G]

Doug, check out TEG's post (#58) in this thread. The creases look pretty similar to me.

You're right... it's probably largely a difference in lighting.

Notice that that front looks a bit more similar to the Roadster 2.5 redesign. At the 2.5 launch they talked about how the "design language" or some such was made more similar to the S. This makes me wonder if the "gills" originated from the design side or the engineering side. Perhaps what happened was the engineers said they needed more airflow for additional radiators, then the designers figured out how to make it look really cool, and then they figured they'd unify that look with the Roadster...?

 

[ckessel]

Perhaps that is to give it more of a sleek "in motion" appearance, but I rather liked the organic curves of the prototype.

Yea, that's it for me. The creases make it looks squared off, less organic and flowing. The squared off look is unappealing to me. The top picture, the new one, the creases on the doors and side paneling make it look like every other sedan on the road, whereas the lower picture of the previous alpha looked very distinct and pleasing to the eye.

It doesn't help that, as others have noted, the bottom is off somehow. The bottom of the doors don't seem to line up as they visually look like they extend about 1/2-1" lower than the fore and after fenders.

 

[Tommy]

So I am thinking if the front black "nose cone" in the Alpha is the final design, it actually might look pretty good if the material were carbon fiber instead of glossy black plastic. Anyone able to photo-shop a carbon fiber "nose cone" onto the car and post pic?