The Porsche Taycan is almost 12 seconds faster than it.
UPDATE: A Nurburgring press release has been released confirming that the Model S Plaid holds the lap record for electric cars. The announcement can be read here. It names Andreas Simonsen the driver. He covered the 20.8-kilometer track in 7 minutes 35.579 minutes. His top speed was 279 km/h (173.4 mph em).
Elon Musk announced via Twitter that the Tesla Model S plaid set a new record as a production electric car on the 12.8-mile (20.6 km) course of the Nürnbergring. The EV sedan lapped the German track in 7 mins and 30.909 seconds, an average speed of 103 mph (166.32 km/h).
Yesterday’s record run was recorded and Musk’s Twitter photo shows a second time in 7 minutes, 35.579 seconds. This is likely due to the longer track (0.14 miles/230m longer). We also have an official Tesla onboard video. The video was taken by Model S Plaid. Another video from Touristen Niiko, , captured the car at several locations around the track (see the below).
The new record time for an electric sedan on the Nurburgring is broken by Tesla. It beats the Porsche Taycan Turbo’s August 2019 record of 7:42 minutes. Although it’s clear that Tesla’s path to the new record was not easy, earlier this month, a Model S Plaid crashed onto the Nurburgring. This may have been in an effort to maximize its potential.
It’s a remarkable result for a production EV, but Musk says that the time of 7:30.909 minutes is slower than many combustion-powered performance cars with two doors. In June, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS equipped with Manthey Racing upgraded kit lapped the Nurburgring 12.8-mile course in 6:38.835 hours.
However, things are different on the sedan scene. The Model S Plaid is very close with competitors such as the Porsche Panamera Turbo (7.29.81 minutes), Alfa Romeo Giulia QV (7:30.00 minutes), and BMW M5 Competition (7.35.90).
Musk made a last note on Twitter that the next step in the EV’s development would be “Modified Plaid” with carbon brakes, aero surfaces, and track tires (all things possible without Tesla being involved).