Elon Musk said at the Tesla Model S Plaid's reveal that the company might take the car back to the Nürburgring Nordschleife to set a lap time. Well, now it has, and it's fast enough to dethrone its arch-rival, the Porsche Taycan, making Tesla the fastest electric sedan at the track.
The seemingly official time is 7:35.579. That's the time listed with the onboard video of the lap. Musk also claims that the car was completely stock, and the video does indeed show the car being driven with the infamous yoke-style steering wheel. Slightly confusing is the fact that the tweet in which Musk says the car is stock, there's a second time that's about five seconds faster than the official one. But if Tesla is listing the slower time as the "official" one, well, who are we to argue?
Tesla Model S Plaid just set official world speed record for a production electric car at Nurburgring. Completely unmodified, directly from factory. pic.twitter.com/AaiFtfW5Ht
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2021
Both times are notably faster than the time set by Porsche with the Taycan. It managed 7:42.34, which is about seven seconds behind the Tesla. That being said, Porsche may have more to give. According to Car and Driver, the Taycan used for the 'Ring time was a Turbo trim, which makes 670 horsepower. Porsche also has a Turbo S version that makes 750 horsepower. We're curious if that would be enough to take back the electric sedan title.
Tesla might not be quite done, either. Apparently there is a Track Mode software update going out to Model S cars in the near future, and assuming it wasn't already used on this record-setting car, there might be room for a little improvement. Musk also mentioned plans to try out some aero aids and better brakes, but if they aren't offered as official parts, a 'Ring car so equipped wouldn't be valid as a production car.
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