Teslas are mind-numbingly fast and this is one of their definitive traits, apart from being futuristic too. Tesla has been redefining the automotive industry for quite some time now and the streak continued with the recently launched Tesla Model S Plaid, which is essentially a performance-oriented version of the Model S sedan. The Model S Plaid has added yet another feather in Tesla’s hat by claiming the electric vehicle lap record at the Nurburgring Nordschleife and the company has also released footage of the car on its lap record run.
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The American electric car set a quickest time of seven minutes 30.909 seconds, just over 11 seconds quicker than the seven-minute, 42 second lap time set by the Porsche Taycan in 2019.
“Tesla Model S Plaid [has] just set the official world speed record for a production car at the Nurburgring. Completely unmodified, directly from factory,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter. Musk also said that Tesla’s next attempt at another Nurburgring lap time will be with a modified Model S Plaid. Modifications will include additional aero surfaces, carbon brakes and track-oriented tyres.
Specs
The Model S Plaid has a tri-motor setup, delivering 1020hp of peak power, across the entire rev range, right up to its 321 kph (top speed). All the electric horses combined helps the Model S Plaid register a 0-to-60-mph dash in less than 2 seconds. For a car that goes this manically fast, it also charges up pretty quickly. In the Plaid configuration, the Model S promises a range of 627km on a single charge.
Even Supercharging speed has been optimised, says Musk, adding that the new car can obtain roughly 300km worth of charge “before you can finish a cup of coffee”. In other words, it does it in under 15 minutes. This has been achieved by incorporating an all-new battery pack, new carbon sleeper rotors and torque vectoring. Musk also highlighted the vast network of Superchargers it has built across the world for its customers, which has now gone up to 25,000 stations.
Also read: Tesla Could Make It To India Sooner Than You Think!
Tesla Model S Plaid has been launched at a price of 129,990 dollars (roughly converted to almost ₹95 lakh). The earlier price of 119,990 dollars was hiked by Tesla just 24 hours before the event, along with price hikes for some of its other models too.