Tesla’s ferociously fast Model S Plaid just set a new production car record at the Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, California, covering a quarter-mile in only 9.247 seconds. The Bugatti Chiron Sport set the previous record in 2018, completing the quarter-mile in just 9.4 seconds.
Retired show host and automotive enthusiast Jay Leno confirmed those shaved milliseconds. He attended the record-beating sprint and spoke about the event during an episode of the podcast “Spike’s Car Radio,” which was uncovered by The Kilowatts – an EV enthusiast site that shared the podcast along with a video of the Model S Plaid running spirited laps at the Laguna Seca Raceway in Northern California a few days after the quarter-mile record was set at Famoso Raceway.
https://twitter.com/klwtts/status/1400173019079712768?s=20
Leno said a stock model of the new Model S Plaid variant reached a speed of 152.09 MPH, and Tesla achieved the record time in just one pass. He said in the podcast:
I’ll tell you what I did. I went up to Famoso Dragway in Bakersfield. And the Tesla Plaid…I drove by, and the NHRA guy was there to make it official. It turned a 9.247, at 152 MPH.
(Leno’s segment on the Model S Plaid occurs at around 13:50 of the podcast)
The event confirms that Tesla’s upcoming tri-motor performance variant of its top-selling electric sedan will be lightning-fast and that its claimed specs are nearly spot-on. The listed quarter-mile time is 9.23 seconds. The company also lists the Model S Plaid’s 0-60 MPH time at 1.99 seconds and top speed at 200 MPH.
The Model S is Tesla’s highest-performance vehicle. The Plaid variant, developed in 2019, was first seen near the Nürburgring motorsports complex in Germany. It has a massive rear diffuser, a low-to-the-ground, wide-body style, and a noticeably quicker powertrain.
Tesla announced in January 2021 that the Plaid and Plaid+ Model S sedans would be available for ordering with deliveries of the Plaid beginning June 10th and the Plaid+ mid-2022.
As if this isn’t exciting enough already, Tesla is planning to break the Model S Plaid record with its upcoming second-generation Roadster. Its CEO, Elon Musk, says that the hypercar will sport rocket-style thrusters to boost it from 0 to 60 MPH in only 1.1 seconds!
