Tesla Model S P100D sets new production car acceleration record

Shawn Knight

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Tesla’s Model S P100D has solidified its place as the world’s fastest accelerating production vehicle from 0-60 mph.

Motor Trend on Tuesday said the Model S P100D in Ludicrous+ mode, a 4,891-pound (5,062 pounds with gear and driver), 4-door sedan, reaches 30, 40, 50 and 60 mph from a dead stop faster than any production vehicle they have ever tested, doing so in 0.9 seconds, 1.3 seconds, 1.7 seconds and a blistering 2.28 seconds, respectively.

Considering Motor Trend is one of the leading publications in the automotive industry, that’s an incredibly impressive feat.

The Model S P100D is able to propel itself forward at such a violent rate thanks to its electric motors which put down maximum torque on command, something a traditional combustion engine simply isn’t able to do.

Tesla’s advantage begins to fade over 60 mph where supercars like the Ferrari La Ferrari, Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 really begin to flex their muscle.

Worth adding is the fact that the Model S P100D turned in a quarter mile time of 10.5 seconds @ 125 mph using the latest firmware (v8.0 release 2.52.22). Again, there are faster ¼ mile production vehicles around (although not many) but in the real world on stock tires, not much is going to touch the P100D between stoplights.

All images courtesy Motor Trend

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It has four electric motors connected to a giant battery. This is supposed to be news?
 
Well it starts to fade after that because 1) electric motors designed for torque have a lower maximum RPM and 2) discharging the battery too fast can either damge it or make it explode.

They are limited at 150 and if that isn't fast enough for you I don't know what to say. Fastest I've ever gone in my car was 130 and I can't say I'm interested in doing it again. Cars are speed/rev limited for a reason, they're only designed to go so fast
 
So this proves that racing slicks on drag racing cars is completely useless?

Actually I would like to see some sort of launch, or spinning start... bet they could make the 0-60 time even less.
 
"in the real world on stock tires, not much is going to touch the P100D between stoplights." - except the local cops...
Not to worry. The jitterbugs who would want one, likely can't afford one Plus they oubtless don't have the patience to leave a deposit, and wait until Elon Musk gets goddamned good and ready to build them one (*).

(*) Or until hell freezes over whichever comes first...:D

So this proves that racing slicks on drag racing cars is completely useless?.
Dude, the car is 4 wheel drive. That means you can practically multiply the Tesla's, (effective) tire width by 2, as compared to a 2 wheel drive vehicle.

Face it, even AA fuel dragsters are rear wheel drive only.
 
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Well it starts to fade after that because 1) electric motors designed for torque have a lower maximum RPM and 2) discharging the battery too fast can either damge it or make it explode.

They are limited at 150 and if that isn't fast enough for you I don't know what to say. Fastest I've ever gone in my car was 130 and I can't say I'm interested in doing it again. Cars are speed/rev limited for a reason, they're only designed to go so fast

The great part about electric cars is that they still have a lot of possible improvements that can be made. Allot of parts used in conjunction with gas engines, like the transmission and gear box, are dead weight.
 
They must be using "Track Bite", a special rubber compound or something like that to set these times. With that kind of torque on tap from the slightest bit of pressure on the 'loud pedal' I can't see it doing much except standing stationary for a half hour smoking all four standard tyres.
 
They must be using "Track Bite", a special rubber compound or something like that to set these times. With that kind of torque on tap from the slightest bit of pressure on the 'loud pedal' I can't see it doing much except standing stationary for a half hour smoking all four standard tyres.
I'd bet Musk is using every trick in the book. First, since it's 4 wheel drive, you double the effective width of the tires. I drive a motorcycle, and with the traction compounds in those tires, you're lucky if you get 15,000 miles out of one. When you compare that with 50,000+ miles tread life guarantee on the average car tire, you can see just how sticky the bike tires must be.
 
I can picture the accidents already. All the wanna be racer's trying to impress their friends will treat every traffic light like the start light for the Indy 500, slamming their cars into all the folks 'running the yellow' and trying desperately to squeeze in a left turn in front of them before the light changes
 
They must be using "Track Bite", a special rubber compound or something like that to set these times. With that kind of torque on tap from the slightest bit of pressure on the 'loud pedal' I can't see it doing much except standing stationary for a half hour smoking all four standard tyres.
I'd bet Musk is using every trick in the book. First, since it's 4 wheel drive, you double the effective width of the tires. I drive a motorcycle, and with the traction compounds in those tires, you're lucky if you get 15,000 miles out of one. When you compare that with 50,000+ miles tread life guarantee on the average car tire, you can see just how sticky the bike tires must be.
Agreed on the AWD but it's also the sophisticated software that launches the car effectively without spinning the wheels. The ability to control the current to each motor and adjust based on the cars performance cannot be understated here.
 
.........They are limited at 150 and if that isn't fast enough for you I don't know what to say. Fastest I've ever gone in my car was 130 and I can't say I'm interested in doing it again. Cars are speed/rev limited for a reason, they're only designed to go so fast
150 mph (240 km/h) is just cruising speed on an empty highway. Major highways (at least in Canada) easily handle the speed, the problem is traffic and the speed differential between you and the other slower moving traffic. There are roads like the Autobahn where apparently much higher speeds than our highways work quite fine.
I was a passenger on a motorcycle where my helmeted head felt like it was going to be ripped off by the wind. By the time I got the driver's attention, he cut the throttle and I could get my head beside his to talk to him we were going 240+ km/h. Other than the aforementioned problem I didn't even know. In Canada I can go to my local Kawasaki/BMW/Yamaha dealer and for about $20,000 CAD buy a 180-190 HP stock motorcycle that weighs 420 lbs. wet (full gas, oil, coolant). These easily hit 300 km/h before modification. When they are speed limited, a hack always comes out to change the ECU (usually the culprit) to unlock it.
I actually have no problem going that fast, except I don't/can't because of the traffic density and if you are caught you lose licence, bike and significant $$$ and likely your personal liberty
 
Agreed on the AWD but it's also the sophisticated software that launches the car effectively without spinning the wheels. The ability to control the current to each motor and adjust based on the cars performance cannot be understated here.
Most likely you're correct about the sophisticated launch control system but I don't believe for one second that the sample/s cars they use are just randomly chosen from the production line. There's a lot more to this than meets the eye and Tesla aren't spilling the beans. Who can blame them? If they are cheating, they'll be caught out sooner or later... maybe never. VW and other manufacturers were c0ck sure they'd never be caught red handed cheating on emission levels.
 
.........They are limited at 150 and if that isn't fast enough for you I don't know what to say. Fastest I've ever gone in my car was 130 and I can't say I'm interested in doing it again. Cars are speed/rev limited for a reason, they're only designed to go so fast
150 mph (240 km/h) is just cruising speed on an empty highway. Major highways (at least in Canada) easily handle the speed, the problem is traffic and the speed differential between you and the other slower moving traffic. There are roads like the Autobahn where apparently much higher speeds than our highways work quite fine.

240km/hr is not really cruising. 160-180, yes. Once you go faster you really need to pay attention. I've driven 250 km/hr on the autobahn in an Audi A6. Most cars don't get up to that speed. The Skoda Rapid I drove there maxed out at 180 km/hr. Tires and horsepower are typically the limiting factor. Most people on the autobahn drive around 120-140 km/hr even without traffic.
 
It is also interesting that many people don't know that tires are speed rated. If you want to go even remotely fast you must have the right speed rating for the tire!
 
"Tesla’s advantage begins to fade over 60 mph where supercars like the Ferrari La Ferrari, Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 really begin to flex their muscle" - This argument is really not valid. If Tesla would've had the gears that all these "supercars" have, then there would be no question who is the winner.
 
"Tesla’s advantage begins to fade over 60 mph where supercars like the Ferrari La Ferrari, Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 really begin to flex their muscle" - This argument is really not valid. If Tesla would've had the gears that all these "supercars" have, then there would be no question who is the winner.
Elon has one of those waiting for you to wait on taking delivery. Save your pennies. No wait, better sell some Apple stock so you can give him a deposit on blind faith.

BTW, if the boilers on ancient steam locomotives could stand an infinite amount of pressure, then their power would be limitless, and those behemoths died out in the middle of the last century.

Same too with the PRR's "GG1". It was electric and could make better than 100mph, pulling a train. Only one problem, you needed overhead wiring to supply the juice. No overhead wiring, time to break out the diesel locos, which are BTW*, run on fossil fuel.

Now we come to the Tesla, which is an almost 2 1/2 ton slug. It goes like a bat out of hell in a straight line, and that's likely just about it. Let's hope Musk decides to enter it in a Formula one race just for laughs..... everybody else's laugh, that is.

This is really important, so pay attention. An electric motor has a design limited maximum RPM. It doesn't develop maximum power unless it's stalled. Just so you know, the fun can't go on forever.
 
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150 mph (240 km/h) is just cruising speed on an empty highway. Major highways (at least in Canada) easily handle the speed, the problem is traffic and the speed differential between you and the other slower moving traffic.
where do you live that 150 is cruising speed? You do anymore than 30 over the limit in the US you could be facing jail time. I know someone who was caught doing 110 in a 70 and they ended up doing 3 months at county jail and lost their license for 2 years. The roads here could handle those speeds just fine, it's the cops and judges that can't.
 
"Tesla’s advantage begins to fade over 60 mph where supercars like the Ferrari La Ferrari, Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 really begin to flex their muscle" - This argument is really not valid. If Tesla would've had the gears that all these "supercars" have, then there would be no question who is the winner.
Transmissions add complexity and inefficiencies which would slow the Tesla down. Remember the 918 is all wheel drive and all three hybrid hyper-cars use electric motors to "torque-fill" their ICE engine's "deficiency" in this case - the super fast 0-60 times.
R&T has the Lafarari's quarter mile at 9.7 Seconds @ 149.1 MPH while MT has the P1 running at 9.8 seconds at 148.9 MPH. This is more likely due to the P100D weighing 5,000 lbs and the hypercars weighing in the neighborhood of 3,600, even with a transmission.
 
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