The Tesla Model S Plaid is no stranger to the Nürburgring, one of the most famous and difficult race tracks in the world. Over the years Tesla has brought out several iterations of the Model S Plaid to Germany in an attempt to set an EV lap record. Now the first privately owned Model S Plaid has hit the Nürburgring and it was driven by none other than Sebastian Vittel.
For those unaware Vittel is a racecar driver that has joined forces with Tesla before, but this time he took his own Model S Plaid to the shortened Nordschleife, or North Loop of the track that measures 20.8km (12.9 miles) in length. According to the video description the electric sedan was at 95% state of charge at the start of the lap, and configured through Track Mode to have traction control turned off, instead having 50% front and 50% rear traction set with 60% brake regeneration.
The car was outfitted with the stock Michelin PS4 tires. The only upgrade was to the brakes with upgraded pads, discs, and brake fluid. Vittel said this brake setup was similar to Tesla’s Carbon Ceramic Brake Kit, which he recently got to test out in Belgium, and that he had no brake problems during his 10 laps around the track.
As for how the car performed, Vittel was just as impressed with it at the Nürburgring as he was with it in Belgium, calling it “amazing” and saying that it felt “easy, well balanced and safe” with “crazy potential,” even though the track was a little wet in sections and dirty from a race the day before and the outside temperature was only 8°C.
The video backs those claims up with Vittel effortless making his way around the nearly 21km track, passing modified cars with ease like they are standing still and reaching speeds as high as 240km/h (149mph).
You can check out the full video below.
