Tesla has announced its Roadster 3.0, which has a whopping 400-mile range, allowing drivers to drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles on a single charge.
The iconic car will be getting a number of other great upgrades, including aerodynamic improvements and reduced rolling resistance via improvments in the wheel bearings and new tires with 20 percent less resistance.
"Battery technology has continued a steady improvement in recent years, as has our experience in optimizing total vehicle efficiency through Model S development," said the company in a statement. "We have long been excited to apply our learning back to our first vehicle, and are thrilled to do just that with the prototype Roadster 3.0 package."
The Roadster was the first production car to use a lithium-ion battery, which was implemented in the car in 2008. The new battery will boast a huge 31 percent increase in battery life, offering around 70 kWh in the same-sized package.
Not only is the battery much better, but the Roadster also boasts a 15 percent increase in aerodynamics with an retrofit aero kit. For the physicists among us, that means moving down to a drag coefficient of 0.31 from 0.36.
Combined, the new features will allow the car to have a 40 percent to 50 percent longer range between the original Roadster and the Roadster 3.0.
The news was first released by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who tweeted it on Christmas day.
"Roadster upgrade will enable nonstop travel from LA to SF -- almost 400 mile range. Details tmrw. Merry Christmas!" said Musk in his tweet.
Unfortunately, it's not currently known when the upgrades will be in production. Musk also mentioned that similar upgrades would eventually make their way to the Model S, however it wouldn't be for a while.
It's important to note that Tesla is not releasing a new car called the Roadster 3.0. Instead, the company is offering the new features as upgrades for its older cars, meaning that users of the older cars will be able to keep their cars on the road for much longer. Tesla seems to be suggesting that if they can make older cars better, then they will do it.
It's also not yet known how much the upgrades will cost, with the package currently being described as a prototype. The improvements will be demoed by the company in early 2015 when it makes a nonstop test drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
The company has also said that the improvements will not be the last to make it to the original Roadster, which is now no longer in production.
The Roadster was released as a limited-production vehicle between 2008 and 2012, with the base price of the car being $110,000 in 2009.
