Tesla is dropping nukes over the automotive world. The Q4 of 2015 was greeted with Tesla’s new Model X with a ‘Bioweapon defense mode’ button, if you want to survive a bioweapon attack, hit a button, boom! You live. Then came in a fully operational ‘Autopilot’ (like the ones in aircrafts), you want to take a nap? Tap a few options on the screen on the dash – Bam… Look ma no hands!
And now an electric car that beats a Ferrari, a Lamborghini… wait for it… takes down a Bugatti Veyron!
The new Ludicrous Mode enabled Tesla Model S P90D apparently managed to do 0–60 mph in just 2.6 seconds during recent testing by Motor Trend. The new Tesla is a 762-hp, all-wheel-drive electric car which can drive itself while slicing supercars off the track! Ludicrous Mode enabled Tesla hangs with hypercars in acceleration from 0 to 60 mph, the list of cars the P90D beats to 60 mph is a long one, including everything from the Nissan GT-R to the bad-ass Bugatti Veyron. There are a few cars that are quicker, but very few. Among them are the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder, both plug-in hybrid supercars with price much higher than that of the Tesla.
The ‘Ludicrous Mode’ is a whopping $10,000 speed upgrade for the Tesla Model P90D. It adds a couple of hardware to the P90D, including main battery pack contacts made of Inconel, which is a ‘space-grade super alloy’. It allows the car to increase the current flow rate from 1,300 to 1,500 amps. This advanced new fuse has its own electronics and a tiny lithium-ion battery built into it that allows Tesla to better bridge the gap between a Model S’ normal operating current and max current. In simple words, it gives the motors access to more battery power and does it faster, without the risk of the fuse being blown.
All Model S P90Ds with the Ludicrous Speed upgrade are marked with an underlined badge reading ‘P90D’.
Ludicrous Mode is also available on the Tesla Model X SUV. A next-generation Tesla Roadster sports car, due out in four years, will have a mode called ‘Maximum Plaid’. Tesla said that it would be even faster.
Images: MotorTrend