From the beginning, Tesla has been all about breaking boundaries. The 1,020 HP Tesla Plaid S yet againndelves into another frontier with track mode. Once shunned as tiny city cars, recent EVs are the most agile automobiles ever developed. Brooks Weisblat of DragTimes puts the Tesla Model S Plaid’s on an open road and lets it speak for itself.
Track Mode isn’t a new feature on Tesla. The EV pioneer first had it on the Model 3 Performance.
However, this feature wasn't available during the launch of the Plaid, and owners could not take advantage of the performance feature they had paid until recently, via an over-the-air update.
According to Tesla, the Model S Plaid is the first actual track-ready automobile out of the assembly line.
The update includes torque vectoring, altered stability control and programming to help maintain battery and motor temperatures. The Track Mode feature essentially allows the driver to adjust the stability control feature that couldn’t turn off initially.
Weisblat got the chance to test out Tesla’s track mode feature in Las Vegas attending the 2022 CES. He also tested for top speed and drift mode in a special area. Based on Weisblat's experience, you can select how much bias you want for the front and rear wheels for drift mode.
Weisblat’s test unit Tesla comes with Razor Aero wheels, which are 6% more aerodynamically efficient, offering more range than stock options.
After setting the car on track mode and driving it for a few minutes, Weisblat notes that the regenerative braking at 100% is way higher than without track mode. Also, the handling balance only works when turning the steering wheel left or right.
It doesn’t push more power to the front or rear when the steering wheel is straight. Meaning you can’t do front or rear-wheel-drive burnouts at the drag strip to heat the tires.
According to Tesla, the new top speed for the Tesla Model S Plaid is 174 mph (280 kph). Weisblat’s test got 173 mph (278 kph) out of the Model S Plaid on the Las Vegas desert (going uphill).
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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