The Tesla Model 3 Performance is set to receive some upgrades when it debuts with the Project Highland refresh design. While we still don’t know for sure when it will be released, the source code already revealed it was coming with upgraded front seats to match its increased performance, and now they have been spotted for the first time.
When Tesla launched the upgraded Model 3 last year in China and Europe, and earlier this month in North America, only the Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) and Long Range (LR) variants were available, with the company making no mention of when, or even if the Performance variant would return.
In the weeks and months that followed its initial launch we learned it would return, and that it would be coming with increased performance, and what Tesla’s Director, Vehicle Programs and New Product Introduction called some “pretty special” upgrades. We also learned it would still retain the Performance moniker, despite a Ludicrous badge appearing in the Parts Catalog.
To match the increased performance, Tesla will be launching the Model 3 Performance with new Sport seats with improved bolstering and support. These were revealed in an image included in a software update last year, but now the new seats have been spotted for the first time in a test vehicle in Palo Alto, California by Fidel Grandez (@fidelgrandez01).
Although the image quality is not the greatest due to reflections, the new seats (left) appear to be identical to the Sport seats that Tesla accidentally revealed in the Model S Plaid Service Manual last year (right).
This of course won’t be the only upgrade. According to third party companion service Teslascope (@Teslascope), the new Model 3 Performance will also include a newly designed rear spoiler and an updated user interface (UI) for Track Mode, along with other hardware changes they were unable to share.
What we do know from previous leaks is that it will also include upgraded suspension, an upgraded motor (suspected to be a Plaid motor), Sport brakes, and a new wheel design.
We still don’t know when the new Model 3 Performance will return to Tesla’s website for ordering, but based on recent rumours an announcement could come this month, and if it does, deliveries could begin as soon as March.
