Tesla has announced a new upgrade kit for the Model S Plaid. Called the Track Pack, it includes a new set of wheels and tyres, plus new brakes and a massive increase to the electric car’s top speed.
Available in the US now, the kit carries a price tag of between $15,000 and $20,000 (£12,000 and $16,000), depending on which items you purchase, and Tesla says the first orders will be available in June.
Intended for the flagship Model S Plaid, the track pack includes a set of carbon ceramic brakes with four 410 mm discs, plus six-piston calipers for the front and four-piston calipers for the rear. It also includes a pair of integrated, caliper-mounted parking brakes, track-ready brake fluid designed to operate at higher temperatures, and a firmware update.
The kit also features a new set of forged, 20-inch Zero-G wheels with Goodyear Supercar 3R tyres. These are road legal in some US states, but aren’t road legal in the UK. So if the track pack makes its way to our shores (along with the Model S Plaid), drivers will have to switch to their sticky new tyres when they get to the circuit.
Lastly, the track pack increases the top speed of the Model S Plaid from 163 to 200 mph, making good on a double-tonne promise made by Elon Musk when the Plaid was first announced.
As a reminder, the Plaid is already a thousand-horsepower electric saloon with three electric motors, a 0-62mph time of two seconds and a claimed range of almost 400 miles. It’ll also pass 100 mph in a little under 4.2 seconds, making it quicker to that mark than a Bugatti Chiron. In-gear acceleration is also absurd, with 60 to 130 mph dispatched in under five seconds. There’s probably no quicker way to lose your licence.
On the software side, the track pack gives the Model S Plaid better battery conditioning, helping to keep it cool after a track session, new settings for the air suspension, and improved torque vectoring between the three motors. The car’s software also lets the driver adjust how much power is sent to the front or rear wheels.
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Available in the US now, there’s still no word on when the Model S Plaid (or the optional track pack) will arrive in the UK. The car can be ordered now with a refundable £100 deposit, but there’s no delivery estimate at this stage.
Alistair is a freelance automotive and technology journalist. He has bylines on esteemed sites such as the BBC, Forbes, TechRadar, and of best of all, T3, where he covers topics ranging from classic cars and men's lifestyle, to smart home technology, phones, electric cars, autonomy, Swiss watches, and much more besides. He is an experienced journalist, writing news, features, interviews and product reviews. If that didn't make him busy enough, he is also the co-host of the AutoChat podcast.
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