Tesla has surpassed its own record for electric production cars around the iconic Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit.
No stranger to setting EV lap records around the Nurburgring, Tesla has returned to the ‘Green Hell’ to beat its own time for production electric cars with an updated Model S Plaid.
A time of 7:25.231 for a full lap of the Nordschleife beats its own record for EV production cars by 10 seconds. During the 20.8km lap, the Model S Plaid reached speeds of 288km/h.
Tesla claims the lap is an official record and an onboard camera shows there’s a bucket seat for the driver plus roll cage, but other than that it looks like the standard car. The choice of steering wheel was the traditional wheel rather than a yoke-style version.
The Model S Plaid is powered by a three-motor system delivering a total of 750kW, 1420Nm of torque and a claimed 1.99-second 0-100km/h time. The American EV manufacturer also claims a 637km range for its top-spec sedan, and that the innovative all-wheel-drive powertrain can maintain peak power supply all the way to its 320km/h top speed.
Torque vectoring comes as part of the Model S Plaid’s three-motor set-up, which helps to improve the car’s handling; a way to mitigate the heavier kerb weight of powerful EVs caused by their larger batteries.
As part of a new ‘Track Package’, the Model S Plaid was fitted with forged aluminium 20-inch wheels, carbon ceramic brakes and performance tyres. Tesla has stopped production of right-hand drive Model S Plaids so the four-door sedan is no available in Australia.