Model S Performance Edition can hold up to the R8 E-tron WRT acceleration but not with the top speed of 250km/h (180 mph) of the specially-modified prototype. Note that this modification over the standard R8 E-tron top speed of 200km/h decreased lap time from 2:26 to 2:08. That's huge. The Model S drive train is designed to deliver maximum torque up to 100km/h (60mph) and RPM are maxed out at top speed of 205 km/h (130 mph). You can change the fixed gear ratio but will lose torque doing that. So in order to compete with the R8 e-tron, Model S must play well in other fields to compensate these 15 seconds. Shed a lot of weight. Tweak aerodynamics and peak power delivery. Make full use of better handling due to low CG. Still that would be a daunting task and I don't see Tesla wasting a buck on this.
Thanks VolkerP. Agree , I want TEsla focused on mass production of street cars and lower cost with useable performance Still it's another good example of the bright future for EV
The top speed/gearing's the biggest issue (135mph is very slow for this track). Power is not (the e-tron has 280kW, the Model S Performance has 310kW). But the other issue is that the Model S is a sedan (almost 2108 kg) and not a two seater like the R8 E-tron (1780 kg). That's responsible for a lot of the weight difference (besides 85kWh vs 49kWh of battery capacity and the fact the R8 E-tron uses a lot of carbon fiber). 328kg is a lot to make up for.