I think they've tried to set expectations low by showing the model x towing a rubber duck as its first attempt at pulling a commercial airliner. They're not expecting big things on this ridiculous first attempt, but eventually ...
It's so easy for Tesla to tweak software to optimize performance on any road curse it probably will have a "Ring mode".
I'll wager. I'll bet the current Model S will not beat the Taycan lap time in production trim. That is to say, no changes to hardware allowed, except tires. Software modifications OK.
Elon knows something we do not know, otherwise why would he even consider sending his Model S P100D Ludicrous Raven version to the Ring? He was very bold in his tweet, can’t wait to see results.
Hmm, I think that wager should extend to brakes, at very least pads. Not many people take their road pads on a circuit for any serious business. They are in the same category as tires IMHO. Discs are borderline, but I used to swap my front discs before track days to keep them bedded in and I used nicer (2 piece) discs on track. Tires, brakes, driver...everything else is secondary at best.
If it was confirmed that the Taycan swapped brakes and pads for their Nurburgring time I would accept this as fair. I do not believe Porsche did so. As far as I can tell, the Taycan ran their 7:42 in production trim. For the purposes of this wager, Tesla needs to do the same. Yes, I know Porsche OEM brakes are really good. That's the point I am driving towards here. Porsche built a car to perform on a track, Tesla did not.
People need to get over their opinions of what's "fair" and what's "cheating" when it comes to this sort of thing. Manufacturers have been 'cheating' when it comes to press cars, review cars, and 'Ring lap times forever. It's not a sport policed by a governing body, it's marketing. Even when cars are competing in something like an FIA event, cheating goes on. The only way to find out if one production car is faster than another is to buy one of each yourself and drive them both around your favorite track. You can't fully trust what a manufacturer or journalist says. Ever.
I totally agree with you. It's not possible to prove or disprove a configuration in this situation as the public will never get access to these press cars. If The Model S gets a time better than 7:42 AND Elon tweets don't mention hardware modifications, I would concede the bet. I highly doubt this will happen. I am soo confident that I agreed to buy a stranger a case of beer that I do not have easy access to should I lose. My entire point here is that the Taycan was built to race on the Nurburgring by a company who specializes in building cars to race on the Nurburgring. Tesla does not. If the Model S does ever post a competitive time, it will be only a shell with a completely altered powertrain, cooling, and battery system. This isn't going to happen overnight. What I expect to happen is Tesla learns quite a lot about what the Model S is not capable of and goes back to engineering with some data and new performance goals. This benefits all of us. Competition is good, tribalism is bad. See the Taycan for what it is; a Porsche. It does what Porsche's do. It is not nor was it designed to be a Tesla. People who thought it would be a 'Tesla killer' bought into automotive journalism hype and should have known better.
Breakfast crow anyone? 7:23 is faster than 7:42, right? Tesla Model S beats Porsche Taycan's Nurburgring lap by ~20 secs: German auto mag
Hardly. We were talking about the Raven. The future plaid model was not even considered. I want to see what Raven will do around that ring.
Since this thread is within the 2020 Roadster “area” nobody and I mean nobody cares what rationalizations you made. This isn’t the Raven section. This is about the ass-beating delivered to A Porsche “prototype” by the Model S plaid “prototype”. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯