In a series of tweets Wednesday, Musk announced that Tesla had set a new lap record for four-door sedans at the famed Laguna Seca race track, beating a record previously held by the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 almost a year ago by nearly a full second, clocking in with a 1:36.555 lap time (previous record 1:37.54).
*~ Some personal news ~*
We lapped Laguna Seca @WeatherTechRcwy in 1:36.555 during advanced R&D testing of our Model S Plaid powertrain and chassis prototype
(That’s a second faster than the record for a four-door sedan) pic.twitter.com/OriccK4KCZ
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 12, 2019
What was even more interesting were the tweets by Musk that followed, indicating that Tesla was working on a new powertrain that will be available on the Model S, Model X, and Roadster sports car in about a year, however will not be available on the Model 3 or Model Y. The name of this new powertrain? Plaid, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the insanely fast speed achieved in the movie Spaceballs.
The only thing beyond Ludicrous is Plaid
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 12, 2019
The Plaid powertrain will be a 3-motor configuration, originally announced only for the upcoming Tesla Roadster.
