Model S to the Nürburgring Next Week!

[mtndrew1]

There’s some very bizarre discussion over at Jalopnik regarding this effort.

I’m in the camp that doesn’t think Tesla will be able to touch Porsche’s run with a stock Raven LR but the progression in the auto media has been:

-Elon is full of sh*t
-He’s actually sending cars but they’ll overheat
-Oh they went to Laguna Seca instead but Laguna isn’t the ‘ring and the Laguna time won’t beat the limited production Jag they’re certainly forgetting about
-Okay the time beat the Jag but there was no official to certify it so it’s null and void
-Okay they sent a car to the ‘ring but it’s modified and they don’t have any time slots so this is stupid
-Well they DO have time slots but they only have a non-production car
-Okay so they also have a production car but it will overheat
-Okay it won’t overheat but this is stupid and dangerous(?!) to have a legendary racer using the ‘ring for its exact purpose

If Tesla even remotely approaches Porsche’s time with a stock-ish Model S it will be an enormous smack down.

The keyboard jockeys in the car nerd world are totally losing their *sugar* over two electric cars making all the gassers passé. It’s weird and amazing.

 

[Todd Burch]

Looks like there is a bit of understeer and the suspension is not controlling the body motion properly. It's not surprising though if they have never tuned the car on the Ring. Question is whether they can tune it without major mod to the suspension geometry since it probably needs change to camber and toe angles besides damping and spring rate.

Tesla, TSLA & the Investment World: the 2019 Investors' Roundtable

See this post. The S still got through that section about as fast as the Taycan (hard to tell and do frame-by-frames on my phone to see which was faster). Not bad for a not-yet-tuned suspension and without Nico in the driver’s seat.

 

[Todd Burch]

Do we have info on the speed of the Model S? Or perhaps an estimate?

See here:

Tesla, TSLA & the Investment World: the 2019 Investors' Roundtable

S appeared to be comparable to Taycan there. Certainly not an obvious difference. And remember this is without Nico driving.

 

[bxr140]

What’s the latest on Rosberg in all this?

 

[Ben D]

.

The keyboard jockeys in the car nerd world are totally losing their *sugar* over two electric cars making all the gassers passé. It’s weird and amazing.

This is because the Nurburgring was the last place that gassers could hide with their ICE street cars. They lost the drag strip to EVs (i.e. Tesla) pretty early on. If the ring is taken away from them by EVs, they have nothing left to defend, except perhaps the salt flats.........

 

[odguy]

 

[Tes La Ferrari]

That looks pretty fast.

When it went over the rumble strips- it made it sound like an ice v8! All the while remaining emissions free!

 

[Valore]

That looks pretty fast.

When it went over the rumble strips- it made it sound like an ice v8! All the while remaining emissions free!

The Porsche hit 221 (137 mph) kph in that same section shown in the Tesla video.

 

[PhantomX]

I thought this is Eschbach/Brunnchen combo? If so, I think Taycan hit around 153kph or 95mph. Please correct me if I am wrong though.

 

[Realist]

Yes it is, Speed seems to be pretty similar.

 

[CarlK]

Here is the comparison.

 

[vexige]

Apologies if repost. Pretty informative, imo

Did a Tesla Model S Really Set a Lap Record at Laguna Seca?

Tesla Model S Spotted Lapping the Legendary Nurburgring

 

[SO16]

Apologies if repost. Pretty informative, imo

Did a Tesla Model S Really Set a Lap Record at Laguna Seca?

Tesla Model S Spotted Lapping the Legendary Nurburgring

In the second article, they state Tesla didn’t bring a production Model S. I believe they brought two vehicles. One is a current production raven model s.

 

[dark cloud]

Here is the comparison.

That's meaningless. You can see at 4 seconds by the angle of the sign in the background that the photographer is in a different position. We don't know if that is the Taycan's fastest lap or if the driver made a mistake in the previous corner. Maybe it is the fifth lap and either car is getting hot and the tires are worn out.

But if you assume they start the corner at the exact same position (again, no way to know for sure) and the videoer is in the same spot, you might conclude that at the end of the video where the trees are the Tesla is one car length ahead.

 

[dark cloud]

Highly Modified Tesla Model S P100D+ Spotted Testing Near Nurburgring

Tesla Model S spied prepping for Nurburgring lap attempt

Tesla Model S Spotted Lapping the Legendary Nurburgring

What I find funny is all these journalists/online blogs are jumping on the story and claiming their own "spy photos", but they are the same pictures from the same freelance photographer.

 

[dark cloud]

Here is a better shot of those brakes. Anyone recognize the brand of caliper? Looks like 6 pots.

Wait, I think this might be it: Brembo.

 

[f205v]

Just published video:

from 2.50 to 3.01

 

[willow_hiller]

Just published video:
from 2.50 to 3.01

Looks like the Taycan from 5:03 to 5:15 around the same bend as the P100D+ if anyone has time to splice the video and compare.

 

[PhantomX]

Just published video:

from 2.50 to 3.01

Nice video! Great to see so many test cars there. The new BMW M3 looks great there! I have also noticed EQC a few times.

Model S looks quite big compared to others through that section!

 

[Lhshockey24]

The Porsche hit 221 (137 mph) kph in that same section shown in the Tesla video.

Ugh, those rattles!! Better take it to the service center and investigate.