So for those of you who haven't seen this posted elsewhere, Unplugged Performance is again teaming up with Randy Pobst to take on Pikes Peak. Last year Randy was driving a Model 3 and got caught out in practice and crashed. He still raced, but on very reduced top speed.
This year they're back...with a Plaid!
One huge thing to note, apparently the car's upgraded cells / thermal management is enough to retain full power deep into the pack. So despite the legacy cell form factor, it would appear that the car's on-track performance is much improved vs. the older S's.
This year they're back...with a Plaid!
Unplugged Performance Reveals Its Model S Plaid Pikes Peak Racer
The 1,020-hp electric sedan will compete at the 2021 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
www.motortrend.com
One huge thing to note, apparently the car's upgraded cells / thermal management is enough to retain full power deep into the pack. So despite the legacy cell form factor, it would appear that the car's on-track performance is much improved vs. the older S's.
"Power is the big one. This is more than four times the power we ended up racing last year. Unintentionally so," Schaffer said. Obviously, the Model S is heavier than the Model 3, however, "the battery pack and the cooling systems are much better."
Illustrating this point, Schaffer points out that as the state of charge decreased in the Model 3, "the power would go down in ratio to some degree." The same does not hold true
for the Unplugged Performance's Pikes Plaid racer. At one point Pobst rolled into the pits at Laguna Seca with 34 percent charge remaining, only to announce the car feels as quick as it does with a full charge. "That's a big difference."