Tesla Model S Plaid release by late 2021
Tesla presented the series version of the Model S with plaid drive at the company’s eagerly-awaited Battery Day. The sedan with three electric motors revealed some impressive performance data. Although the model can be pre-ordered from now on, it will still take some time until deliveries start.
The new high-performance version of the large Tesla sedan should have a range of over 520 miles, the equivalent of 837 kilometres. The top speed is said to be 200 mph or 322 km/h and the Model S Plaid is said to offer the fastest acceleration to 60 mph and to the quarter-mile.
In a sprint from standing to 6o mph, Tesla says the electric sedan should take less than two seconds. The 60 mph only correspond to 96 kph, this time is not directly comparable to the usual sprint to 100 km/h in Europe – here Tesla shows a time of 2.1 seconds on the German website. The quarter-mile, which is important in the USA, should be covered in 9.0 seconds from a standing start.
With these figures, Tesla reclaims the range crown. The Lucid Air, which was introduced a few weeks ago, has the longest range version with 517 miles, or 832 kilometres. In the most powerful version, Lucid Air achieves a 0-60 value of 2.5 seconds, the quarter-mile is indicated with 9.9 seconds.
The only thing beyond Ludicrous is Plaid
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 23, 2020
There was no further official data on the Model S Plaid on the fringes of Tesla’s Battery Day, but various media outlets are assuming the electric car will have a power output of around 810 kW (1,100 HP). Tesla has not revealed much about the battery but assumes an energy content of up to 130 kWh.
The design of the production version that Tesla briefly showed in a video is much closer to the familiar versions of the Model S than to the prototypes that Tesla tested on several race tracks last year. Although the series plaid also has a modified air intake at the front and a large spoiler edge on the trunk lid, it is still very much in line with the original. Compared to the blue prototype that raced on the Nordschleife, the production version seems to be a little more civilian.
Nevertheless, Tesla seems to have made further progress in tuning the engine. On the race track in Laguna Seca, California, the 2019 plaid prototypes achieved a time of 1:36.55 minutes. Last weekend, a near-production plaid model is said to have already achieved a lap time of 1:30.3 minutes. The top version of the Lucid Air is said to have circled the race track in 1:33 minutes. When announcing the production model, Musk expressed his confidence that “with a few improvements, you could probably be three seconds faster”. Then the production car lap record of a McLaren Senna would be within reach.
Tesla originally announced that it would launch the Model S Plaid 2020. The car can already be ordered now (for 139,990 dollars in the USA and 139,990 euros in Europe) but is not scheduled for delivery until the end of 2021.
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