Cite all the super fast cars that you can think of: LaFerrari, McLaren P1, Porsche's 918 Spyder, Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. Sorry, they have all been roundly obliterated by the Tesla Model S P100D after an update further boosted the vehicle's Ludicrous Mode.
The record-breaking performance was registered in a Motor Trend acceleration test. Using the Ludicrous+ Easter egg released in December 2016, the Model S P100D zoomed from 0 to 60 mph in a staggering 2.275507139-second time.
More Than Ludicrous
The Easter Egg allowed the vehicle to accelerate even faster than the normal Ludicrous mode with the way it raises the temperature of the P100 D's battery ever so slightly and how the car's air conditioning is used to cool the engine.
To initiate the blast off, the driver had to use the so-called special launch control sequence that involves a series of brake and accelerator pedal pushes. According to Motor Trend the stunning speed achieved is analogous to accelerating like a real jerk.
"Launching a Model S P100D (weighing 5,062 with gear and driver) in full-on Ludicrous Easter-egg mode snaps your body in a manner that is utterly impossible to replicate in any other street-legal production car on normal tires and dry asphalt at a mid-$100,000 price point," the Motor Trend team explained.
Beating Other Super Cars
Nevertheless, the acceleration figure is the fastest in the history of the magazine's tests. At this point, no production vehicle has breached past 2.3 seconds. The Model S has also beaten its previous record achieved last month during the Tesla Racing Channel wherein it hit 0 to 60 mph in 2.389 seconds.
Around the time the Ludicrous update was announced, Tesla CEO Elon Musk merely declared a 2.5-second promise. Commenting on the Model S's recent feat, however, he said that Motor Trend could have achieved an even faster acceleration speed by removing its floor mats and the front trunk liner.
It is important to note that acceleration speed is not all that when evaluating overall vehicle speed. At this point the Model S EV will still lose to the Ferrari, McLaren, and Porsche flagships when talking about the long haul. The P100D's speed tapers off after 60. It can manage to cover a quarter mile in 10.5 seconds whereas the LaFerrari, for example, can do it in 9.7 seconds.
We won't be surprised, however, if the next Ludicrous update, which has been inspired by the 1987 Mel Brooks "Spaceballs" film, will have the Model S careening in the street from 0 to 60 in a blink of an eye. The latest has demonstrated so far the claim that the Tesla vehicles with Ludicrous modes are still not realizing their full potential.
