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Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor Coming In Mid-2018 With AWD

“Probably middle of next year” is when the all-new Model 3 will gain the all-wheel-drive powertrain every Tesla enthusiast is waiting for, with Elon Musk adding that the automaker is now focused on “production hell.” From the chief executive’s standpoint, more Model 3 options translate to “deeper hell.”
Tesla Model 3 15 photos
Photo: Tesla
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First of all, it should be highlighted that Elon Musk hasn’t confirmed which of the two Model 3 variants (base and Long Range) will be gifted with the Dual Motor powertrain. It would be ideal if both were to be offered as such, and this gets us to pricing. Bearing in mind the entry-level Model 3 starts from $35,000 before incentives, the Model 3 AWD could cost something like $40k.

The guesstimate is based on the pricing difference between the Model S 75 RWD and Model S 75D ($69,500 and $74,500, respectively). In the case of the fully kitted out Model 3 Long Range, adding $5,000 to the current maximum retail price of $59,500 would get Tesla’s newest EV in the ballpark of $64,500.

On the matter of performance, it’s hard to estimate what the Model 3 AWD (or Model 3D, whatever it will be called) is capable of. The Model S in its most extreme guise (P100D), for example, develops 259 horsepower and 184 pound-feet up front and 503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet at the rear axle, making for a combined 680 horsepower and 791 pound-feet of torque.

For reasons I can’t get my head around, Tesla hasn’t released the output rating of the rear-wheel-drive Model 3 Long Range, which can thrust itself to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and on to a top speed of 140 mph. It’s almost certain, then, that the Model 3 AWD will improve on those figures and on the rear-wheel-drive variant’s EPA-estimated 310 miles of range on a full charge.

On a related note, production of the Model 3 AWD begins “in the spring” according to a section of the Tesla website, and international deliveries of left-hand drive vehicles are scheduled to start in the second half of 2018. Come 2019, the right-hand drive Model 3 will also enter production. By the end of 2017, Musk hopes Model 3 production to ramp up to 5,000 unis per week.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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