According to a new report, a Tesla Model S has beaten the Porsche Taycan’s Nurburgring lap time.
It seems that Tesla is on the warpath. No sooner does the electric carmaker reveal that they’ve secured the fastest time for a four-door sedan at Laguna Seca than we hear that they’re aiming for the Porsche Taycan’s Nurburgring record for the fastest electric four-door. Not only that, but we’re also hearing that Tesla has already beaten it thanks to a new Model S prototype.
As a refresher, Porsche announced the Taycan to be the fastest four-door electric sedan around The Green Hell back in August shortly before the car’s official debut. It set a lap time of 7:42 minutes, which is a respectable time for any vehicle, let alone a big family four-door EV.
Now a new report from German car mag Auto Motor Und Sport says that a new Tesla Model S has beaten that time by a good 20 seconds. Sources speaking to Motor1 say that the unofficial time was 7:23 minutes in a prototype Model S.
That prototype Model S is being called “Plaid” in a reference to the classic Star Wars spoof film, Spaceballs. We don’t know a whole lot about it, other than it’s got a new widebody kit and a third motor to go along with the two it already had on each axle. We can assume this third motor is on the rear axle and probably pushes the Model S's power to around 700 horses.
Initially sporting Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, Motor1's sources now say each wheel is wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport RS Tires. They also report an assortment of racecar drivers at the wheel, including Thomas Mutsch, Andreas Simonsen, and Carl Rydquist.
Those same sources say an official record attempt will be made on Wednesday evening, with a second one to happen on Saturday. We'll be sure to report on both if Tesla manages to beat the Taycan.