Production Tesla Roadster gets glorious hands-on: stifle your envy, please

by Darren Murph,

Here at Engadget, we hold a special place in our hearts for Mr. Jason Calacanis, but regardless of whose name is on the pink slip, there’s no denying that the vehicle you’re peering at above just struck all sorts of jealousy in your chest. This Very Orange (seriously) Tesla Roadster is one of the very first to be produced with the revamped drivetrain, and according to the lucky (lucky!) souls over at AutoblogGreen who were able to give it a go, the “new, higher torque motor immediately made its presence felt.” All that aside, we know you’re here for the photos, so head on down to the read link when you’ve got ten or so free minutes to shuffle through. Let’s just say you’ll have a new appreciation for one Drew Phillips (photographer) when you’re done treating your retinas.

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MINI E ‘unboxed’ in LA

by Paul Miller,On engadget.com

That’s not really a “your mom” joke, more of a statement that your mom is pretty neat and has good taste in electric cars — like this here MINI E. BMW just unveiled the first production MINI E to roll out of its magical electricity-imbuing factory, the first in a limited series of 500 for lease in California and metro New York to people way better looking than you. The bad news is that the all-electric MINI is part of what BMW is calling “Project I,” a test of sorts to see how well electrics hold up to real world abuse and to figure out usage patterns of real-life photogenic people — there’s little indication that the car in its current incarnation will be distributed any more widely than this 500 car run. Check out a plethora of sexy unveiling pictures at the read link to help offset the pain.