Tesla knocks Porsche off the top spot at the Green Hell—for now.
The Tesla Model S Plaid has retaken its place as the fastest electric vehicle around the Nurburgring with a time of 7:25.23. The tri-motor, 1,020-horsepower sedan did so with help from a new “Track Package” which swaps out the regular Plaid’s brakes, tires, and wheels for higher-performance alternatives. It is a whopping eight seconds faster around the ring than the Porsche Taycan Turbo S, which previously set the EV record at 7:33 minutes.
The Plaid’s powertrain was reportedly not modified to achieve this extra performance, nor has it received any aerodynamic upgrades. The biggest updates come to the braking system, which makes sense for the heavy electric sedan. The track pack includes carbon ceramic rotors, one-piece forged calipers, and high-performance pads at every corner. New brake fluid and a firmware update are reportedly required to run this hardware.
The only other changes to the car are new wheels and tires, which are now 20-inch forged aluminum units fitted with Goodyear Supercar 3R tires. Tesla posted a video of the entire run to its YouTube channel.
The Taycan Turbo S only had the edge over the Plaid by two seconds when it set the EV record around the ‘Ring last year, and there are plenty of opportunities around the track’s 170 corners to make up time. Likewise, the Model S Plaid is limited to 200 miles per hour. Faster EVs like the Rimac Nevera, which can achieve 258 miles per hour, will be able to take advantage of the track’s very long main straightaway and faster corners to, in all likelihood, crush both Tesla and Porsche’s times. The Croatian company has been seen at the track in recent days testing the car, which just broke several performance records.
So while Tesla and Porsche duke it out for a few seconds here or there, Rimac will very likely set the record straight soon. Unless Tesla gets its new Roadster running in a hurry, it will have to be content with its newest time.
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