The Teslonda Accord Rides Again
This is probably the fastest 1981 Honda Accord in the world.
Regular readers of The Drive may be familiar with the Teslonda, a 1981 Honda Accord that's been stripped out and implanted with the motor from a Tesla Model S a couple of months ago. The Teslonda's head builder, Jim Belosic, posted a brief shot of the car launching from a standstill. Since that video, Belosic has added some accouterments to the Accord, namely a wheelie bar, a custom Teslonda badge, and a throwback stripe decal to match.
He posted an update on Monday, this time giving a tour around and inside the car. Belosic explains that the thing that makes electric drag pulls possible is a Raspberry Pi computer running custom code. He also demonstrates the few features of the car, which are operated by console-mounted toggle switches.
The video is capped off by a zero-to-60 mile per hour test. The Teslonda's current record is 2.48 seconds, which is fast by just about anyone's standard, and almost in the territory of the 800 horsepower Dodge Demon.
According to Belosic, future plans for the Teslonda are to install a roll cage, squeeze a bit more power out of the Tesla drivetrain, and see what it can really do at the drag strip.
In current form, the Accord is putting about 470 horsepower to the rear wheels, but Belosic claims that its motor is capable of cranking out 550. Using some old Chevy Volt batteries, the car can do about 20 launches on a charge, but overall power output starts to decrease after 10.
One of the most important parts of this Teslonda project is the software that runs it, and Belosic's grand plan is to make the program compatible with a variety of electric motors and batteries, then license his software out other people looking to build zero-emissions hot rods of their own.
