Aston Martin’s CEO Says Tesla Ludicrous Mode is ‘Stupid’
Aston Martin is gearing up to release an electric vehicle and its CEO didn’t mince words talking about its competition.
“We don’t do Ludicrous because Ludicrous speed is stupid,” Aston CEO Andy Palmer told Automotive News, talking about Tesla’s new drive mode that allows its Model S sedan to launch from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds.
Instead of gimmicky drive modes, Palmer wants to offer a track-ready EV that is fun to drive and offers a range of at least 200 miles. “I think that the fact that you could drive a few laps of a decent race course or race it around the Nordschleife [famed track in Germany] is much more interesting than doing 500 meters in Ludicrous mode.”
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The British luxury brand has plans to release an all-electric version of its Rapide sedan that will push EVs into new ultra-luxury territory with a price tag of somewhere between $200,000 and $250,000. “What Tesla clearly shows you is we haven’t hit the ceiling in terms of price,” said Palmer.
In that price bracket, Palmer says that customers are looking for “something beyond a pure technology play, they start now looking for legacy,” something which Aston Martin has a lot of.
Insane mode comes as standard – no button required! pic.twitter.com/aVwvaLkju2
— Andy Palmer (@AndyatAston) August 16, 2015
Preposterous mode (beyond insane) as standard – funny no button! pic.twitter.com/bcTunm2UKJ
— Andy Palmer (@AndyatAston) August 16, 2015
@crtrud Definition : ludicrous Part of Speech: adjective Definition: absurd, ridiculous Answer: We are Aston, we don’t do that
— Andy Palmer (@AndyatAston) August 16, 2015
[Source: Automotive News]
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