The tester is absolutely right. I picked up on that right away. They did imply that it could not do sub 2. And it is encouraging to hear that it is a high statistical probability that it can happen from the sounds of things. If they were being genuine they should have pointed out that they were so close to 2 in their testing (within HUNDRETHS of a second), that the car could achieve the sub 2 number. Maybe there was just some sour grapes because they did not like Tesla telling them they needed to test with VHT? Who knows but we will see a sub 2 number with a 1 ft. roll out.
Did you notice the sarcasm in the MotorTrend article at the top with the *asterisk? I think they were taking shot at the Tesla web site because it had an asterisk next to the 1.99 number. cmon, big deal. Every car magazine in US does a 1 ft. roll out. At least they put the asterisk in there! I have no issue with it whatsoever. And some people complained they did not do it for the regular model. Well, that is no big deal either as the Plaid is clearly the performance model and broke a performance bound. It was a clear benchmark number.....not just a matter of fact.
I don't agree with that poster. When you are accelerating that fast, grip at the launch is king. It's not like the Plaid has an Ice which benefits from a bit of slip to help the engine get up into the powerband. Any slip is time lost.
Having said that, I agree, Motor Trend went overboard on their histrionics, but I still maintain, Tesla never should have had to had ANY special instructions. Take a look at this follow up article that was just released.
For example, 0–60 mph is achieved in less than 100 feet.
www.motortrend.com
TLDR:
0-60 w/ rollout on un-prepped surface (their OFFICIAL number) 2.07 Seconds.
0-60, no rollout, no launch mode. Literally just slam on the gas: 2.45 seconds.
I mean, at this point, if you can do 2.45 seconds without any battery pre-conditioning, no launch control, no Cheetah stance, no VHT. Just literally slam it and go like Darryl the Hellcat driver is next to you, I think the argument is pretty much moot. And backs up my point.
Tesla didn't NEED to give them special instructions. 2.45 seconds people. With NO launch control. DO you know what happens to a 911 Turbo S if you don't use launch control? A whole second and a half.
From Car and Driver testing the 2021 911 Turbo S:
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 2.2 sec
100 mph: 5.3 sec
130 mph: 8.9 sec
150 mph: 12.5 sec
180 mph: 21.4 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 3.7 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.0 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 2.4 sec
1/4 mile: 10.1 sec @ 137 mph
No need to brag. The Plaid is freaking FAST. Look at it another way: Look at the 60 MPH time and the 130 MPH time. Now take the difference to get the 60-130 time:
6.7 Seconds.
According to Motor Trend, what did the Plaid take to do 60-130?
4.711 Seconds.
TWO SECONDS FASTER 60 to 130. People, that is HUGE.
