Plaid S in the wild photos

[BigNick]

Didn’t the Nürburgring car have seriously-wide tires, like the 305mm or wider found on Corvettes and similar?

These tires don’t look any wider than the 265s I ran this past summer.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Or follow it until a stop light is encountered, get out of the car, walk up and photograph it all inside and outside.

It would also be incredibly telling as to where the car is going as well. I'd follow it from enough of a distance to not tip off the driver to see where it's going as that would be great data to add to the pool. The "chase car" was a Model 3 so assuming the dude wasn't already on low voltage or the Plaid car wasn't fully charged and doing a 500-mile urban test it shouldn't be too difficult to get a LOT more information than we were presented.

My reckless speculation: this was 100% intentional and this "story" was fed to the lackey who posted it. He was given exactly the information Tesla wanted him to have exactly when they wanted him to have it. They're controlling the narrative of this 'story" 100%.

The good news is that, if my speculation is correct, this means we're close enough to a full Plaid reveal/production that Tesla wants to start warming up their base to it's existence. It may be here sooner than many have been predicting because the last thing you would want is to command the attention and then slow-roll the release to let this artificial excitement dwindle. That or they feel threatened from the competition but I'm less inclined to think this because it would make the most sense to leak this earlier if a competitor had JUST revealed something that had everyone talking. It's been largely crickets from this angle for a while now.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Didn’t the Nürburgring car have seriously-wide tires, like the 305mm or wider found on Corvettes and similar?

These tires don’t look any wider than the 265s I ran this past summer.

To your point, the new Vette runs a 305 rear and previous versions came equipped with rear cross-sections as wide as 335. IMHO a lot of that was just ePeen contests to say who had the wider tires.

On an AWD car that weighs 5,500+ pounds, the wider contact patch found on something like a RWD sports car wouldn't be as critical. Keep in mind that this is a 4dr sedan first and an obscene amount of specs can be achieved with something like a 265/275 section when all four corners are powered.

My guess would be that something like a 255 front & a 285 (possibly 295) rear coupled with the power #'s their talking about would absolutely achieve the #'s they're claiming if they can make it all work together in harmony for more than a few seconds.

All of this also supports the conversation here that you really wouldn't need an aggressively wider car to fit the meats to get the job done. This added width and bodywork increases drag which is another large pillar of Tesla design as we already know. Hence a widening of only a couple inches or so for slightly wider tires.

 

[dark cloud]

Didn’t the Nürburgring car have seriously-wide tires, like the 305mm or wider found on Corvettes and similar?

These tires don’t look any wider than the 265s I ran this past summer.

And they were more concerned with shaving a few seconds of lap time moreso than the reduced range that those tires produce.

 

[daktari]

In order to be competetive on the Nordschleife, the Plaid needs more cooling for the brakes and more downforce. Can't see that in these pictures. Releasing a plaid that looses to the Taycan would be a bit meh..

Also, if these pictures are from a cell phone or ap cams, wouldn't the format be distorted quite a bit? Take a look at a A6 vs RS6, the widened body is quite easy to recognize.

I also find it strange that the rear lights are the same as in 2013.

 

[dark cloud]

LOL it's catching on.....

Wide body kits for 2014 Mode S

 

[rooter]

In order to be competetive on the Nordschleife, the Plaid needs more cooling for the brakes and more downforce. Can't see that in these pictures. Releasing a plaid that looses to the Taycan would be a bit meh..

Also, if these pictures are from a cell phone or ap cams, wouldn't the format be distorted quite a bit? Take a look at a A6 vs RS6, the widened body is quite easy to recognize.

I also find it strange that the rear lights are the same as in 2013.

Agree. I doubt this is the new body style we've been expecting.

Firstly, I've always said that it won't change until the sales curve turns upside-down, and it has now. Second, I have more faith in Elon than to see microscopic tweaks to the body style.

I say, if this is the new style it won't do. That this may be just a mule to throw ppl off. At least I hope it's so.

PS - I've always hated the rear lights; a little angry?

 

[dark cloud]

Here is a shot of my 2014 Plaid with the wider front fenders. Everyone still think that blue car has wider fenders?

 

[Snow Drift]

Is the blinker wider than normal?

 

[Ofarlig]

To be honest, I am fine with the same exterior as before if they just remove chrome. I want a landscape display on the inside but keeping the more premium interior compared to the 3 and CCS port on the EU model. If they can add some new battery stuff and maybe a larger pack it is a no brainer for me.

 

[tcoombes]

Looks like refresh without Plaid. Timing would be right to see a few refresh versions on the road prior to production.

 

[dark cloud]

...... I want a landscape display on the inside ......

Just had a thought pop into my head reading this post: Why can't Tesla mount the touchscreen on a swivel, and the user can decide whether to orient it landscape or portrait? Just like we do with our phone?

 

[Ofarlig]

Just had a thought pop into my head reading this post: Why can't Tesla mount the touchscreen on a swivel, and the user can decide whether to orient it landscape or portrait? Just like we do with our phone?

I mean it is probably possible but the problem would most likely be designing the rest of the interior to work together with it. If you place it at the optimal height for landscape mode it would both be too high and cover phone chargers if you swivel it.

 

[Tiger]

Didn’t the Nürburgring car have seriously-wide tires, like the 305mm or wider found on Corvettes and similar?

Let's hope we can soon see it at the Ring again: Tesla is making subtle preparations for the Model S Plaid at the Nurburgring

 

[Tiger]

I mean it is probably possible but the problem would most likely be designing the rest of the interior to work together with it. If you place it at the optimal height for landscape mode it would both be too high and cover phone chargers if you swivel it.

How about a swivel on a telescope gimbal?

 

[Ofarlig]

How about a swivel on a telescope gimbal?

Haha yeah it would work, as for looks though...

 

[DanCar]

Look at front fender. Right pic fender sticks out further to me. The side rearward facing camera is in a different position. I wouldn't be surprised if that was updated to a side facing camera in addition to rear facing.
https://twitter.com/AEONde/status/1345145220120383489/photo/1
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EqrqXHZXEAEYMd8?format=jpg&name=large

 

[MichaelP90DL]

I really don't much care about a cosmetic refresh as long as it goes like a scalded rabbit. But if a refresh will improve its sales, and thus keep it in production, by all means...refresh.

 

[BrokerDon]

To your point, the new Vette runs a 305 rear and previous versions came equipped with rear cross-sections as wide as 335. IMHO a lot of that was just ePeen contests to say who had the wider tires.

My 2006 Corvette Z06 had 325/30R19 rear tires... because it had a hand built 7.1liter / 428.7 c.i. / 7,000 rpm racing motor in the front that produced 505 h.p. (documented 449 h.p. at the wheels) and 470 lb-ft to the REAR WHEELS ONLY ("RWD") propelling a super light 3,133 lb. car. The Z06's WIDE tires weren't for an "ePeen contest"... They provided the desperately needed LARGE tire contact area to try to keep the rear tires from simply spinning when launched. Even with these steamroller super wide rear tires it was an art to launch it since spinning the tires triggered the Z06's "Active Handling" and "Traction Control" systems which pulled timing that would almost stall the motor.

C6 Z06's also ONLY came with a manual transmission and NO launch control. Trick to launch it was rev it to 2,000 rpms then drop (not feather) the clutch... and then roll on the power. Too much and you'd lose traction... and then shift to 2nd ~ 60 mph being careful to feather the throttle again so you didn't spin the rear tires and lose control or have "Active Handling" and "Traction Control" systems kick in again. If you got all that right you could do 0 to 60 in just over 4 seconds.

Amazing myLucidrous P85D can do 0 to 60 in 3 seconds... with ZERO drama and little skill. So much safer since it's AWD and the computer controls the torque. Brilliant!

New Corvette is a mid-engine car so doesn't need as wide of rear tires... Until Chevrolet introduces their performance model like the previous Z06 or ZR-1. Then they'll almost assuredly use super wide rear tires again.

 

[Spacep0d]

Again that is just the angle the pics were shot at. The one at the top was shot from a closer and higher angle.

It's interesting to see how many folks on this thread "are seeing" a very different car. Is that how badly we want a refresh?? This is too funny.

Yes, I fully admit that they may very well be the same. I'm just trying to help out. I have NO dog in this fight because I own a Model 3 and have no plans to buy a Model S. I also don't think it's practical to make the car wider merely for cosmetic reasons given traffic congestion in places where EVs are popular.

Plus, I think all Teslas look amazing as they are right now. My biggest design gripe with the Model S is that chrome detail between the tail lights 'spearing' the lights. Hate it with a passion. But, a simple chrome-delete or body color wrap solves that quickly and cheaply. I love the new front end of the Model S without the fake 'intake/grill' on some of the earlier models.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a Model S Plaid but I'm not wealthy enough to justify such a purchase, lol. Same issue with the Roadster 2.0.

But, I'm a HODL TSLA retail investor. So, I'm not wealthy enough *yet*.