In case you missed it, Tesla's new version of its electric luxury sedan has just become the world's quickest production car with a 0-60 mph sprint time of just 2.5 seconds. That's about 0.15 faster than the previous model, the P90D with Ludicrous mode.
While we're still waiting for the promised Plaid mode - a reference to Mel Brooks' "Space Balls" parody - we have some trouble figuring out how a production car could accelerate any quicker than this. There are so few things a human being can do in 2.5 seconds except blink, that reaching 60 mph almost seems otherworldly.
Differences as tiny as the 0.15 seconds seen here are nearly impossible to notice outside of a head-to-head comparison, and sure enough, as soon as the P100D deliveries had started, we weren't the only ones curious about how a drag race between these two cars would look like.
With such a tight margin, things like tire temperature and reaction time become vital for the outcome, so some very precise measuring instruments would be needed to get the most accurate impression possible. Unfortunately, the guys at Tesla Racing Channel haven't done that. Well, at least not yet.
They own a P90D with Ludicrous mode that they've been using to torment ICE car drivers on the quarter-mile drag strip. Their white Tesla has become something of a trophy car, the one everybody tries to beat. Now, they've taken delivery of a new P100D, and on their way back home, they had a few test runs with the two cars side by side.
Forget about precise measuring instruments, the difference is palpable. The P100D isn't just a Model S with a larger capacity battery pack, and thus more range. It's also quite sensibly faster. Translated in seconds, the difference between the two cars wasn't probably that great, but the P100D went in front by at least a car length. It managed to win even when the P90D got a significant head start, but the newer model caught up immediately.
The channel's frontman promised they will be taking the car to the strip as soon as the opportunity presents itself, and there we'll be able to see some timed runs and get an idea of how quick this car really is. He says the P90D Ludicrous managed to break into the tens with a 10.8 second quarter-mile time, but even he doesn't know what to expect from the P100D. Well, apart from faster times.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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