Model S Plaid: Fastest mass-production electric car ever runs rings around Nurburgring

Tesla has proven that electric cars are not only cleaner for the environment, but can also be some of the fastest vehicles on the planet. 

A production Tesla Model S Plaid with an official factory track pack has set the fastest lap time around the famous Nurburgring track in Germany.

This was done in under 8 minutes with an official time of 7 minutes and 25 seconds. That’s on a track with a length of just shy of 21 km.

That’s the quickest a production EV has ever lapped around the track. Tesla shared this milestone on its Twitter account:

During the record lap, the tri-motor Model S Plaid hit speeds of up to 290 km/h that were enabled by the addition of the track pack. 

The track pack on the Model S has only recently been launched after nearly two years of the car being available to customers. It costs up to $A30,300 and contains:

• Aluminum forged wheels
• Track-ready tires and brake fluid
• Carbon-silicon carbide rotors 
• One-piece forged callipers with high-performance pads.

Tesla describes the track pack which helps the car unlock 322 km/h of top speed as:

“Designed for the ultimate track experience, the Model S Plaid Track Package delivers high-speed stability, maximum cornering force and repeatable stopping power during high-performance driving while unlocking a top speed of 200 mph.”

The high speeds are thanks to the power out of the tri-motor setup unique to the Tesla Model S Plaid. The combined power output out of the three motors is rated at 760 kW and over 1,420 Nm of torque.

That’s an incredible amount of power and torque from what’s essentially a five-door large sedan designed for a comfortable electric drive.

This is paired with a 100 kWh battery pack that can charge at speeds of up to 250 kW at Tesla’s superchargers.

Previously the EV track record was held by a Porsche Taycan Turbo S that had Porsche’s Performance Kit on the car. It completed the lap in 7 minutes and 33 seconds.

A Tesla Model S Plaid owner and European automotive industry analyst Alex Voigt replied to Tesla’s news on the Nurburgring track time by saying what the Porsche management may think of this lap record:

Unfortunately for us here in Australia, we will not be seeing the Model S in the right-hand-drive configuration after Tesla removed the model from its offerings in the country.

The new track record huge achievement by Tesla and shows that electric cars are not only cleaner but can run rings around many ICE vehicles around what many automotive enthusiasts consider the holy grail of race tracks – the Nurburgring.

Watch Tesla Model S Plaid record Nurburgring lap