TESLA

Model S Plaid returns to Nürburgring for another record

In September, the Tesla Model S Plaid completed a lap of the 20.6 km of the German Nürburgring Nordschleife track in 7 minutes and 30 seconds, becoming the fastest electric saloon on the circuit known as the Green Inferno. This time beat that previously set by rival Porsche Taycan Turbo, whose best lap was set at 7.42.

But everything indicates that beating the competition in 12 seconds is not enough for the American brand, which is back on the German track. As early as September, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, had already announced that the Plaid would return to the Nürburgring, but now with aerodynamic appendages, ceramic brakes and sportier tyres. In reality, similar trumps to those used by the Taycan and other supersports, except for the hindwing.

This “vitamined” Model S Plaid has been continuously seen on the German track and, unlike the Model S Plaid that ran in 7.30, with a normal appearance and identical to a Model S Long Range, this one features a front splitter, to glue the front to the ground. It also has a retractable rear wing, which is active at the same time, to provide aerodynamic support in corners and when braking without losing speed on the straights, as well as larger, ceramic-based brakes to resist more intensive use.

It remains to be seen if this Model S is just a sportier version of the Plaid, with an aerodynamic kit and better brakes, as Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche traditionally offer, or if it's something Tesla is already developing for the Plaid+, a model which he claimed to have suspended “because it makes no sense to offer more than 800 km of autonomy”. But it is believed that it will return as soon as the 4680 cells are available in quantity…

It remains to be seen how many seconds this new Plaid can take at 7.30 – registered on the same variant of the track used by Taycan, which is almost 5 seconds slower –, to leave the record even further away from the competition.

Autonews