It's been a while since Tesla came up with an update that would make the Model S even quicker, but those looking for such changes can have their needs catered to by the aftermarket side of the industry, which has just delivered a new 1/4-mile world record for the Model S.
By now, you should be familiar with the Tesla amateur racecar that brought us this stunt, since we're talking about a car that almost has its own YouTube channel - we're talking about the P100D owned by the crew over at Tesla Racing Channel.
The Model S recently managed to beat its own 1,320 feet record, albeit just slightly. Nevertheless, the P100D completed the quarter-mile sprint in 10.41 seconds at 125.12 mph, with its previous time sitting at 10.44s.
The sedan has been on a diet for quite some months now and things recently got even more extreme. As a result, the Tesla Model S P100D now tips the scales at 4,460 lbs, being 500 lbs lighter than a factory stock model.
Most of the interior bits had already been taken out, but the current state of the car required removing the door speakers (the driver's one remained) and the front sway bar, while also replacing the 12V battery under the frunk.
For the sake of comparison, we'll mention that the proper Model S P100D racecar, which takes part in the Electric GT championship, comes with a weight reduction of 1,100 lbs. Nevertheless, the racer mixes a stripped-out cabin with composite body panels, so we're playing the apples-to-oranges game here.
While we're talking EVs, we'll remind you that the electron juice sipper market is about to get considerably richer. With most major carmakers now working to deliver an all-electric lineup, Tesla is set to face uber-fierce competition from Porsche, for instance.
In fact, earlier today, we brought you the first spyshots of the Mission E. The electric baby Panamera, if we might call it so, is expected to hit the market by the end of 2019.
And with the Zuffenhausen machine set to up the ante by introducing an 800V system (today's EVs use 400V hardware), we'll be keeping an eye out for any moves the Palo Alto company makes to stay competitive.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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