Jay Leno Takes a Ride in the 2020 Tesla Roadster
The late-night icon rides shotgun in Tesla’s future Bugatti-beater.
Former late night host and prolific car collector Jay Leno recently took a trip to Tesla's design center in Hawthorne, California, to talk shop with the electric automaker's chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, about the past, present and future of the company.
Pulling up in what is presumably his own 2008 Roadster, the Jay Leno's Garage host discusses Tesla's presence in the mass-market Model 3 before taking the electric sedan for a short test drive. More notably though, Leno then gets a glimpse at the brand's future when von Holzhausen brings out the next-generation 2020 Roadster.
Promised to be the fastest production car ever, the Bugatti-beating Roadster will apparently get from zero to 60 miles per hour in 1.9 seconds, do the quarter mile in 8.8 seconds, and achieve a top speed of over 250 miles per hour while boasting 600 miles of range and be a relative bargain at $200,000.
Leno decided to experience Tesla's lofty acceleration claims for himself, climbing into the Roadster's passenger seat for a quick launch. We don't want to spoil the video but based on Jay's reaction, it looks like this Tesla's walk is capable of backing up the talk.
While the precise number is hard to pin down and probably changes on a monthly if not weekly basis, Jay Leno owns approximately 150 cars including the original Tesla Roadster and a Model S in addition to supercars like the McLaren P1, Ford's new GT and a plethora of classic, historic vehicles.