Bone Stock Tesla Model S Plaid Set A Nurburgring Record
In February of this year, Porsche took its new electric supercar to the famed Nurburgring in Germany and set the car loose. It flew around the extremely challenging 20.6-kilometer track in a time of seven minutes and 42 seconds, setting a record in the process for fully electric cars. Tesla didn't take kindly to Porsche holding the record for electric cars at the famed racing track and fought back by taking its new and highly anticipated Tesla Model S Plaid to the Nurburgring.The result of Tesla's effort is that it is now the record holder for electric vehicles around the famed racing circuit. Tesla's driver was able to hustle the Plaid around the racetrack in seven minutes and 35.579 seconds. That's massively faster than Porsche was able to lap the track with its Taycan.
Automotive manufacturers like to lay claim to records such as this, so you would completely expect Porsche to take a hotter version of its Taycan back to the Nurburgring in an effort to grab the record again. The more interesting about Tesla's lap time is that CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the car used was completely unmodified and was direct from the factory. Never one to be shy about sharing details, Musk tweeted what appears to be a timesheet handed out at the racetrack.
Tesla Model S Plaid just set official world speed record for a production electric car at Nurburgring. Completely unmodified, directly from factory. pic.twitter.com/AaiFtfW5Ht
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2021
It's worth noting as Tesla and Porsche battle on the record for EV lap times at the Nurburgring, the version Porsche used was the confusingly named Taycan Turbo making 670 horsepower. However, there is a hopped-up Turbo S trim that makes 750 horsepower. Presumably, it could go faster, but seven seconds is a lot faster around the track.
That said, it seems Tesla is expecting competition, and it's reportedly working on a new Track Mode software update for Model S cars. While it's unclear what Track Mode will unlock, it would likely improve performance and could make Tesla's rocket even faster.