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A Model S Plaid owner recorded a quarter-mile time of 8.994 seconds, thus breaching the nine-second barrier!
by Sidd Dhimaan, onThe Tesla Model S Plaid has been kicking ass ever since it was launched. Its straight-line sprints have been nothing but impressive. The car comes with ridiculous performance specs, with one of them being a quarter-mile time of 9.23 seconds. Many drivers have attempted to break the record and some have successfully managed to do it, but none of them were able to slip under the nine-second mark… until now. A Plaid owner has clocked a time of 8.994 seconds to set a new record! How long do you think it will stay?
Records Are Being Broken Frequently Now
A driver named Christine Dodworth managed to clock a time of 8.994 seconds at a trap speed of 155 mph on her stock Tesla Model S Plaid. The record run was achieved at Maryland International Raceway in Virginia. It was only a matter of time before someone breached the nine-second mark, but good to know that it’s finally happened.
In terms of mods, it is said that only weight-reduction measures were undertaken, one of which included the seats being removed from the car. Do you count this as stock?
George, Christine’s husband, posted the video of the run and an image of the race slip on his Instagram profile. As you can see, she completed the sprint in 8.994 seconds. Since this was a record run and not a drag race, the reaction time doesn’t matter. (it is 10.338 seconds, by the way)
What About The Previous Records?
This is now the quickest quarter-mile Model S Plaid that we know of. This car has broken the previous record set in July at the World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis. The Midnight Silver Metallic shade Plaid there sprinted the quarter-mile distance in 9.081 seconds at a trap speed of 154.10 mph.
That 9.081-second record had broken Jay Leno’s record of 9.247 seconds at 152.16 mph. Leno’s run wasn’t a record per se as it was set a week before Tesla launched the Plaid. Tesla officially revealed the Plaid’s quarter-mile time to be 9.23 seconds at 155 mph.
Brooks from DragTimes had attempted to break Leno’s record before back then and missed out by the narrowest of margins. Out of the multiple runs, the best time he managed to record was 9.248 seconds at 151.83 mph; just 0.001 seconds slower than Leno’s time. This record was set at the Orlando Speed World Dragway in Florida.
There Are Other Accolades As Well
The Model S Plaid has been running the Nürburgring for the longest time in its preparation to beat the Porsche Taycan’s record set in August 2019. After a lot of unofficial runs and bold claims, the automaker finally attempted an official record run in September and broke the Taycan’s record by 12 seconds to set a time of seven minutes and 42 seconds!
Although the company claims a top speed of 200 mph, we’ve not seen that happen yet. We’ve heard of top speeds being achieved during the aforementioned quarter-mile runs, and they are in the whereabouts of 150 mph. However, during the Nürburgring run,the real top speed so far was uncovered and it was 167.14 mph (269 kph). We’re yet to see a higher top speed being achieved.
Tesla Model S Plaid Highlights and Features
For the uninitiated, here are some specs and features of the Tesla Model S Plaid:
- Based on the Model S
- Features a tri-motor setup
- Produces 1,020 horses combined
- 0-60 mph in 1.99 seconds
- Quarter-mile run in 9.23 seconds with a trap speed of 155 mph
- Top speed of 200 mph
- World’s most aero-efficient car - Drag coefficient of 0.208
- Estimated range of 396 miles
- Supports fast charging up to 250 kW and can add 187 miles of range in 15 minutes
- F1-inspired, yoke steering wheel
- 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
- 17-inch touchscreen system
- Screen for rear passengers that offers PS5-level performance
- Priced at $129,990
Conclusion
Expect the Model S Plaid to break more records moving forward because the company is working on an aero package for the car was recently spotted with an active rear wing and a front splitter. But, for now, this 8.994-second quarter-mile run is the best that the Model S Plaid has seen.
Share your thoughts about this with us in the comments section.
