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Tesla Model S P85D Leaked, Might Pack Two Motors and All-Wheel Drive

Tesla Motors and Elon Musk are on quite a roll these days. Not only the Silicon Valley-based EV manufacturer is preparing to build the notorious Gigafactory battery plant, but engineers are also working hard, developing the Model X crossover SUV and the BMW 3 Series-rivaling Model III sedan.
Tesla Model S P85D 1 photo
Photo: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/
As if that wasn't enough of a handful for a carmaker as young as Tesla Motors, Elon Musk dropped the bomb on his Twitter only recently, teasing a mystery model that looks like a Tesla Model S from the front. Well, we now found out what that so-called 'D' is all about: a souped up Model S officially dubbed Tesla Model S P85D. We also have a sneaking suspicion what the upcoming P85D is going to boast with.

Taking into consideration the soon to be released Model X all-electric crossover has been confirmed to use two electric motors driving each of its axles, we presume that the American EV carmaker has finally decided to spruce up the Model S sedan with a twin-engine and all-wheel drive configuration, that'll be slotted above the range-topping P85+.

Considering Tesla previously confirmed that the Model X in Performance guise will be able to accelerate "from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds, outperforming the fastest SUVs and many sports cars," we have great expectations of the new P85D.

Think about it - a sedan is that little bit lighter than a crossover SUV, translating to a faster 0 to 60 mph run than what the Tesla Model X will be capable of. The Palo Alto-based manufacturer's fastest vehicle yet is the Model S P85 we reviewed a few months ago. If that bad boy was capable of doing the run in just 4.2 seconds, then the twin-motor, AWD P85D is going to shave at least two tenths of a second.

Nevertheless, a single photo and assumptions aren't enough to confirm what we believe the P85D to be, so let's be patient until October 9th, when Tesla's Elon Musk promised this 'D' thingy will be unveiled.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

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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