Tesla Power + Honda Accord = The Teslonda
The dawn of electric motoring is upon us. No longer is it simply a case of ‘if’ electric takes over, but rather ‘when’ instead. So what happens now? Do we accept that fun cars will no longer exist, or do you simply utilize electrification to make a different kind of fun instead? Thankfully, the latter seems to be the most common choice!
Jim Belosic’s first car was a 1981 Honda Accord. This wasn’t a fun car from the factory… or rather, it wasn’t a fast car from the factory. Jim still owns his 1981 Honda Accord in 2018. An Accord which has just been timed from 0-60mph in 2.48-seconds. No cylinders, no turbochargers, no liquid fuel altogether. Yup, Jim’s Accord is all-electric.
Rather than simply ditch to the Honda to the big scrapheap in the sky, Jim – hell-bent on having a wacky project to get involved with – decided to fit the drivetrain from a salvaged Tesla Model S P85 instead.
‘I’ve been wrenching on something since I can remember’ Jim explains. ‘So turning the Accord into an electric car seemed like a good way of keeping it around for the nostalgia. I also figured that if I want to be able to modify cars in the future, I’d better learn everything I can about these kinds of vehicles now.’
The work was, understandably, vast. The steering and suspension all had to be moved so a straight-axle front end could be fitted to accommodate the huge battery pack. The wild stance and drag slicks? Well, aside from giving the car character… it provides a whole load of grip required to put the 400 kW of power (536bhp) to the floor. Don’t forget that being electric, all 980nm of torque is deployed instantly too…
The end result – aptly named a Teslonda – is unlike anything else we’ve ever seen before. Even with the heavy batteries and running gear, Jim’s Teslonda weighs just 1100kg, roughly half that of the standard P100D model. If this is the future of car tuning, we say bring it on!