“2nd fastest car of the decade” – Car and Driver mag.
“The Model S Plaid ripped to 60 mph in 2.1 seconds and hit the quarter-mile in 9.4, — just as quickly as the $3.7 million Bugatti Chiron Sport.”
1/4-Mile: 9.4 sec @ 151 mph
Tested date: December 2021
Price as tested: $137,440 (Base price: $131,440)
“Basically, our product plan is stolen from Spaceballs,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said with a smirk when unveiling the 1020-hp Model S Plaid, referring to the 1987 film parody of Star Wars. In that movie, the fastest faster-than-light speed is called ludicrous speed. When the ship Spaceball I reaches that speed, it appears plaid, leading a character to remark in wide-eyed awe, “They’ve gone to plaid.” Both Ludicrous and Plaid have been names for modes in the swiftest Model S variants.
It’s the first Tesla powered by three electric motors, two at the rear and a third at the front axle, all of them now permanent-magnet synchronous AC machines. New in the Plaid are carbon-fiber-sleeved rotors. The carbon-fiber shell holds each rotor together to enable rotational speeds of up to 20,000 rpm, about 25 percent faster than before. … Tesla claims that the Plaid continues to make 1000 of its 1020 horsepower all the way to its 200-mph top speed.
The Plaid’s radiator is twice as large as before, and our test car ran eight consecutive consistent passes, the last one at an 80 percent state of charge.
The Plaid is certainly the least ostentatious car that can run nines in the quarter-mile. It doesn’t draw envious looks or adulation on the road. All its new tricks are hidden beneath familiar, decade-old sheetmetal. But for a large four-door that seats five, rides comfortably, and starts at $131,440 to mix it up with multimillion-dollar exotics is an amazing accomplishment. The Plaid actually blows the quickest exotics away in our passing tests, where it shot from 30 to 50 mph in 0.9 second and from 50 to 70 mph in 1.0 flat. Those are the quickest times our test gear has ever witnessed, more than twice as quick as the Chiron and about a 30 percent improvement over last year’s Model S Performance and the Porsche Taycan Turbo S.
Our test car topped out at a governed 162 mph, no faster than last year’s Model S Performance.
But, trust us, you don’t want to do 200 mph in this car. Even 162 mph was terrifying,
wandering and nervous to the point that we were concerned about our ability to shepherd it between lane lines. The steering doesn’t firm up enough with speed, making the task more difficult. At similar velocities, a Taycan is resolutely stable. Another reason to fear a 200-mph speed is brakes that got soft during our testing. Although our braking regimen isn’t nearly as severe as what a racetrack demands, a warning message reporting the brakes’ demise popped up on the dash. Between the flappability at high speeds and the iffy brakes, our helmets are way off to former FIA GT racing driver Andreas Simonsen, who piloted the Plaid to what must have been a harrowing 7:35 Nürburgring lap.
The Plaid’s huge improvement in cornering grip likely played a part in that ‘Ring time.
A Model 3 Performance with the variable (and defeatable) Track-mode settings is far more satisfying and fun.
There’s a 17.0-inch center screen that’s now horizontal, a 22-speaker stereo system, and thicker acoustic glass that makes the interior significantly quieter than before.
Despite the added performance equipment, our test car delivered an impressive 280 miles of range in our 75-mph highway test. That’s 80 percent of its 348-mile EPA range, a higher proportion than we’ve seen in our other Tesla tests. Some credit should go to the Plaid’s heat pump, which Tesla claims uses 50 percent less energy to warm the cabin. The Plaid went farther than every other EV we’ve tested except the more efficiency-minded Model S Long Range Plus. Which, considering the Plaid’s speed and sticky tires, is monumentally impressive. The car also delivered on Tesla’s promise of substantially faster recharging ability, nabbing the highest average charge rate we’ve measured..
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g30083537/quickest-cars-of-the-decade/?utm_campaign=dda_fb_cd_n_d_i_g15085113&utm_medium=cpm&utm_source=facebook_dda
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a38423992/2021-tesla-model-s-plaid-by-the-numbers/