Clitheroekid wrote:One very negative aspect of electric cars is that they weigh far more than ICE cars, which means they shed far more in rubber and brake dust, both of which are serious pollutants.
I would agree that they shed more rubber but they generally shed less brake dust. Regenerative braking means that their kinetic energy mostly goes back into the battery, rather than shredding brake pads and heating up brake discs.
Clitheroekid wrote:I should make it clear that I'm not in any way against high performance cars in principle - there are so few of them that the additional pollution they create is irrelevant. However, the entire concept of an electric high performance car is a contradiction in terms, simply because of the weight factor, which, at least so far, can't be overcome (and, of course, the lack of sound).
OK, the sub 2 second 0-60 Tesla is fiction (there is an asterisk on that figure), but you are trading off better torque and energy efficiency against the weight, so when you say "the weight factor, which, at least so far, can't be overcome", I am not convinced. The Tesla Model S outperforms a lot of exotic ICE cars that cost more than 10 times as much.
Clitheroekid wrote:An electric car is by definition a compromise, and is designed for one purpose only - to reduce carbon emissions. However, a high performance car design shouldn't be constrained by such irrelevancies - the sole objective should be to engineer the best possible car, and at present that means an ICE car. It's why electric Ferraris are an absurdity, and yet another embarrassing confirmation that the company is very sadly transitioning from being one of the finest motor engineers in the world into a designer brand.
All cars are a compromise. You compromise different things depending on whether you are prioritising outright performance, load capacity, off-road ability or something else. I'm not sure that ICE Ferraris can actually outperform a Tesla Model S, even though the Tesla is a large (oversized?) family car, not a stripped back "hypercar". The best possible car needn't be running enormously inefficient, complex and fragile ICE engines and the related transmissions, when they can be running simple, efficient and robust electric powertrains.
I think we can agree that the weak point in electric cars is the batteries, but the technology is improving rapidly and electric cars are superior in all other respects.