Tesla SpaceX Model R Imagined As A 2,950 HP Hypercar With Rocket Boosters

The article contains renderings by Maximilian Schneider that are neither endorsed by nor related to Tesla.

Elon Musk has had a lot to say about the second-generation Tesla Roadster over the last five years but as it stands, it remains some way off reaching the production line. However, the delay in the Roadster’s launch hasn’t stopped one skilled designer from imagining what the ultimate version of a Tesla hypercar could look like.

The finished creation is dubbed the Tesla SpaceX Model R and comes from the mind of Maximilian Schneider, a German designer who has previously worked at Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, and HiPhi, and just launched the Design to the Max channel on YouTube. The wild hypercar expands on Musk’s claim that the Roadster could be offered with rocket boosters but takes things to even more extreme heights.

First is the design. The shape of the Tesla SpaceX Model R shares nothing in common with the Roadster and looks far more radical as a result. Indeed, it has a shape more akin to a prototype racer than a traditional street car and has LED headlights neatly incorporated into the bulging front wheel arches.

The glass cockpit has been positioned quite far forward in the car and aerodynamic wheel covers also catch the eye. Continuing the radical bodywork and shape of the SpaceX Model R are massive aerodynamic fins on the rear quarter panels.

Schneider’s dream Tesla hypercar would just run an electric powertrain but would also feature rockets with liquid-hydrogen propellant, resulting in a combined 2,600 hp for the ‘standard’ car alongside a 467 km/h (290 mph) top speed, and 2,950 hp for the race-focused variant with a 526 km/h (327 mph) top speed.

It’s not just in a straight line where the SpaceX Model R could be extraordinarily potent. The rocket boosters positioned above each axis would push down independently on each wheel, resulting in cornering forces of up to 4Gs.