Last month Tesla, according to unofficial reports at the time, beat the Porsche Taycan lap time at Nürburgring by clocking a hand-stopped time of 7m23s, bettering the Porsche time of 7m42s by nearly 20 seconds.
A few days later, Tesla confirmed the time as unofficial, and said that with some modifications and improvements to the Plaid Model S prototype, a time of around 7m05s would be achievable. Then they were spotted at the track again last month.
Now a report out of Auto Motor und Sport indicates that Tesla has beaten their own unofficial record by clocking another hand-stopped time of 7m13s, that’s nearly 30 seconds quicker than the best offering by Porsche. This also wasn’t just a one-time accomplishment, as they apparently were able to clock 7m13s twice. The records were set in the blue Model S seen at the track, as the red one had crashed late last month.
The fact that Tesla has been able to come back to the Nürburgring race track just a month after their first attempt, and better their own unofficial lap record by another 10 seconds, and the Porsche time by nearly 30 seconds is remarkable.
To give a sense of how quick the Plaid Model S time is, a Porsche 911GT3RS, which is essentially a race car for the street, was able to complete a lap in 6m56s. Compare that to the 7-seater, luxurious Tesla Model S, and you get an idea of how fast this car really is.
It appears that Tesla is now done testing at the track, as Auto Motor und Sport reports the two Plaid Model S prototypes have been sent back to the US. I’m sure Tesla will be back next year, this time to hopefully set an official lap record.
