Tesla Roadster behind closed curtains at the Hawthorne Design Center

Posted onDecember 4, 2017

Rare photos of a next generation Tesla Roadster, seen making a transformation from concept art to a clay model, before eventually becoming a working prototype, have been spotted.

The photos were reportedly first shared by a Tesla employee on Facebook and later made its way to Imgur, as noted by BGR.

A series of photos beginning with a sketch of a gorgeous red Roadster that’s signed by Tesla’s Chief Designer, Franz von Holzhausen, takes us through the company’s process to design what’s to become the world’s quickest production car.

Concept art of Tesla’s next generation Roadster

Capable of reaching 60 mph from a standstill in a blistering 1.9 seconds, Tesla’s “hypercar killer” can also top out at over 250 mph thanks to its three electric motors.

“The point of doing this is to give a hardcore smack down to gasoline cars” said Musk when he first unveiled the next generation Roadster at the Tesla Semi event. “These are all world records.”

The photos show a sleek profile that lends itself to a low coefficient of drag and the vehicle’s 620-mile all-electric range from a 200 kWh battery pack.

Attendees of Tesla’s semi-truck unveiling event that plunked down an initial $5,000 for the chance to purchase a Roadster in 2020, were given the opportunity to take a journey through Maximum Plaid.

Tesla is offering a standard Roadster priced at $200,000 and a limited edition Founders Series version that requires a full cash payment of $250,000 to reserve. Short of handing over a quarter million dollars to Tesla, existing Model S and Model X owners are able to win a free next-gen Roadster by referring fifty or more vehicle sales.

[Photo: teslaownersitalia via Instagram]

First production of the new Tesla Roadster is slated for 2020.

Though it will be another couple of years before Tesla is expected to open up its Roadster Design Studio to reservation holders, one Tesla fan took his love for the car a step further by building his own Tesla Roadster interactive color picker.