The Tesla Mannequin S Plaid is as soon as once more king of the Nürburgring Nordschleife for manufacturing electrical automobiles after setting a brand new lap document.

A Mannequin S Plaid outfitted with the Observe Bundle set a brand new lap document for manufacturing EVs on June 2, beating the earlier document of the Porsche Taycan by greater than eight seconds. 

The precise lap time was 7:25.231 (7 minutes and 25.231 seconds), which locations the Mannequin S Plaid in respectable firm, between the Ferrari Enzo and Mercedes SLS AMG Black Sequence.

The earlier document for manufacturing EVs was set in August 2022 by the Porsche Taycan Turbo S, which coated the 12.94 miles of the fearsome observe in 7 minutes and 33 seconds. The Taycan had beat the earlier document set by the Tesla Mannequin S Plaid a yr earlier than by greater than two seconds.

Now, Tesla has reclaimed the document, which begs the apparent query: how was the Mannequin S Plaid in a position to shave 10 seconds off its earlier Nürburgring lap time?

Nicely, the Observe Pack is the apparent reply, because it provides new brakes and tires and unlocks a 200-mph prime velocity. 

Extra particularly, the Observe Bundle consists of aluminum solid Zero-G wheels, track-ready Goodyear Supercar 3R tires, and a carbon ceramic brake package consisting of carbon-silicon carbide rotors, one-piece solid calipers with high-performance pads, and track-ready brake fluid.

However the onboard footage of the document run posted by Tesla gives one other clue as to how the Mannequin S Plaid was in a position to be 10 seconds sooner than in 2021: the spherical steering wheel. The Mannequin S Plaid that set the document two years in the past featured the yoke, which many deemed unsafe and never efficient for observe driving.

Whereas it is arduous to say how a lot the spherical steering wheel contributed to the Mannequin S Plaid’s new document, the very fact it was fitted with one equates to quiet admission from Tesla {that a} conventional wheel is best than the yoke – a minimum of when trying to set a lap document on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Watch all the document lap within the spectacular video embedded above, wherein the Tesla Mannequin S Plaid might be seen hitting speeds as excessive as 179.5 miles per hour (289 kilometers per hour).