Elon Musk wants to achieve a sub-7 minute record at the Nurburgring
Can the Tesla Model S Plaid keep up with a GT2 RS and 918 Spyder?
It's no secret that Tesla and Porsche are rivals when it comes to EV performance on the track. During late 2019, the Taycan Turbo dethroned the Model S Performance as the fastest street-legal electric car at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, sparking heated conversation over Twitter. Two years later, the American manufacturer is out to seek German blood with its ludicrously fast Model S Plaid.
In a recent podcast with Joe Rogan, Musk discussed several topics regarding Tesla. He wants the upcoming Tesla Roadster to "hover" with jets and the Cybertruck will be few percent smaller for practicality reasons. Finally, he mentioned that the Model S Plaid will attempt to crack the sub-7 minute mark at the Nurburgring later this year.
Musk"Every millisecond really matters when you're going that fast"
Is this ambition achievable? Well, the Plaid has a low centre of gravity and a whopping 1000hp+ powertrain. That figure may sound ridiculous (and it is), but the family hauler manages to put that power down with its AWD system. The evidence is in the 0-62mph sprint, which is achieved in an eye-watering 2.1 seconds.
Whilst the Taycan Turbo is officially the fastest street-legal EV around the Nurburgring (7:42), it was beaten by a Model S Plaid prototype. The time set by the Tesla was an impressive 7:23 but still 23 seconds slower than Musk's ultimate goal. Nevertheless, it is a strange and exciting time to be alive when a souped-up Model S is trying to compete against track-focused exotics.
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Comments (65)
It’d be impressive if it’s done without a driver and achieved solely by its auto-pilot capabilities. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Don't give him any ideas!
It won’t on just autopilot. If the car is taught the perfect lines of the Nurburgring and what to do. It might be easier than having to deal with human error
Even if it went round in 2 seconds flat, on auto-pilot, whilst giving you a back rub... I still wouldn't want one.
Why?
I perceive them to be too big, too expensive and too boring. Just my opinion. I'm sure they're objectively good cars, that doesn't mean I have to like them though.
The haters blasting the comment section is funny and predictable. They're like an outdated steam engine from the past that's been building up pressure. The slightest talk of Tesla doing something that said couldn't be done with an electric car = instant pressure release! 😤
Whomever failed my comment helped prove my point. Thanks!
I'm no Tesla fan but a lot of the hate is absurd. Yes their cars catch fire, yes they make some questionable business decisions and yes their owners are often obnoxious. I understand if those are the reasons you dislike the brand but hating it...
Read moreIf Tesla does that would be impressive. But Porsche would then take their title after like 2 months.
I would hope so. Tesla isn't a performance company and has only been around for ten years. Porsche has a near unparalleled racing pedigree with a multitude of performance engineers.
Very possible! Keep in mind that Porsche set the record with 'just' the Taycan Turbo, not the Turbo S.
Just because Elon wants doesn't mean it's going to happen. He needs to stay in the rocket game not cars.
He makes incredible rockets and his cars were revolutionary back in the day but not so sure anymore. It seems the competition has caught up and succeeded Tesla. The Taycan and e-tron are prime examples.
Yep. Space X is next level amazing and no one is going to be doing what they do. Extremely ambitious with talent to back that up and funds galore. They have already achieved great success and I wish them much more. Zero dead astronauts and...
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