One of the first upgraded electric Model S vehicles with longer range and adaptive suspension, code-named “Raven” by the electric carmaker, has been spotted in a Tesla showroom at Walnut Creek in California.
Thanks to a reworked, more efficient Model 3 permanent magnet rear wheel drive unit on the front axle, the new “Raven” Model S has a range of nearly 600km, making it the longest range electric car around, according to the carmaker.
Along with its SUV stablemate the Model X, the Model S received in April a number of upgrades including longer range, faster charging and adaptive suspension.
The black electric sedan was spotted by Twitter Chad Mortensen, who posted images on the social media channel on Monday (US time).
At first unsure if it was a Raven, Mortensen was assured by a Tesla “sales associate” that it indeed was.
I was just told that this is Raven by @Tesla sales associate. I was shocked and asked him twice to make sure and he said it is. Wow!! pic.twitter.com/ynqMXVqe4G
— Chad Mortensen (@mortchad) June 25, 2019
The vehicle pictured, which is the Performance version of the premium electric sedan, confirms that it is a Raven by virtue of the fact that the Dual Motor badge has a red underline.
Additionally, there has been a style update on the headlights, as pointed out by fellow Tweep Walter MacVane.
Besides dual motor badging the head lights are new I believe. pic.twitter.com/myE17C8znD
— Walter MacVane (@EcoHeliGuy) June 25, 2019
The adaptive suspension of the Raven allows for two modes, referred to as Standard or Sport.
Whereas the standard suspension mode delivers a “softer and more fluid ride” (as confirmed in Youtuber DÆrik‘s video on the Raven below), sport mode offers a “firmer, more controlled ride that increases driver engagement and connection to the road”.
As with its predecessor, the Raven offers suspension lowering settings allowing the driver to choose whether to lower the suspension automatically at higher speeds, or always or never lower the vehicle (earlier models used to do this automatically and these settings were added later in a firmware update).
The new adaptive suspension system was also made available for owners of earlier Model S vehicles via a firmware update.
The new, upgraded Model S and X, however, have a one-up on previous models, with a superior charging rate of up to 200kW allowing the vehicles to charge 50 per cent faster than before.
The specifications for the Raven were first introduced by the EV maker via its online blog in April 2019.
While Tesla confirmed at the time that the Raven would go into production straight away and was available for order from April 23, 2019, this is the first time we’ve seen it reported in-store.
CEO and founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, has said since the Raven announcement that it will not be long before Tesla can deliver even more range of up to 650km.
Note: This article has been updated to reflect that it is a Performance model captured in the photos.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.