A Tesla Model S takes on the Porsche Taycan for the Laguna Seca record

A series of duels between Tesla and Porsche is on the horizon, and the scenarios chosen will be the most competitive circuits

The back-and-forth is on. Tesla and Porsche have unofficially declared war, and their soldiers have been called to arms.

With the presentation of the Porsche Taycan, Tesla felt the need to reclaim its spotlight among the high-end electric saloons.

The succession of news about the development, tuning, presentation and, since Monday, the manufacturing of the first Porsche fully electric model, is too much for Tesla’s advertising and marketing departments, but even more unbearable for the mind of the Californian brand.

Elon Musk could not hold back and, once the new Porsche Taycan was unveiled to the world, he posted a message on his favourite network questioning, in a few words, the logic behind the rival car’s name. Something that was quickly replicated, it must be said.

Um @elonmusk, this word Autopilot does not mean what you think it does

— Jalopnik (@Jalopnik) September 5, 2019

Anecdotes aside, the dynamic seems clear: Tesla will look to put in a strong effort wherever Porsche has made, or intended to make, a bold statement.

Round 1: Laguna Seca, fight!

As if it were a boxing match, Tesla and Porsche are going to go at each other in a series of rounds in which both try to demonstrate that their respective proposals are superior to those of their opponents, whatever they may be.

And the first round has already taken place. The chosen venue was the spectacular Laguna Seca circuit, home of the legendary Corkscrew corner.

There, almost a year ago, a Jaguar XE SV Project 8 set the record as the fastest production four-door saloon, with a time of 1 minute 37 seconds and 54 hundredths.

https://youtu.be/JbMzY0anNJo

A car with an imposing 5-litre, 8-cylinder V engine producing 600 CV and 700 Nm, with a top speed over 320 km/h and a 0-100 time of 3.7 seconds.

Yesterday, Elon Musk himself announced again from his Twitter profile that one of his electric cars had beaten that time.

The Tesla Model S recorded a time of 1 minute, 36 seconds and 555 thousandths. It even improved on the mark of a Tesla Model 3 Performance, whose time had been beaten by almost a full second.

In its standard configuration, the Performance S version has a front-axle motor of 375 kW (510 CV) and 660 Nm and a rear motor of 193 kW (262 CV) and 330 Nm. Thanks to this, the Tesla Model S Ludicrous Performance reaches 100 km/h from a standstill in 2.6 seconds and has a top speed of 262 km/h.

The video Tesla published today on its YouTube channel shows the full lap recorded aboard the unit chosen to beat this Laguna Seca record.

https://youtu.be/6hmdmYRYt9A

Technical specifications of this car

HatchbackPorsche Taycan22 versions · from 106,252 €