Watch Tesla Model 3 Performance ace the Nürburgring race track [Video]
Tesla Model 3 Performance takes on the world famous 'Nürburgring' race track with all its might — executing the 5.148 km (3.199 mi), 16 turn asphalt track masterfully — no doubt the driver was also exceptional in handling the car, you'd need the nerves of a gorilla to drive at these insane speeds on such a path.
Above: Tesla Model 3 Performance at the Nürburgring race track (Photo: Jay in Shanghai)
Michael Schumacher (driving his Ferrari F2004 Formula One car) holds the world record on this track performing 60 laps with an average time of 1:29.468 per lap at the 2004 European Grand Prix.
Obviously, Tesla's Model is not a Formula One hypercar but it executes the difficult track with nimble performance — the agility with which the car takes on turns is quite impressive — the car does not disappoint when it comes to handling at speeds of up to 210+ km/h.
Above: The Nürburgring race track (Image: Pitlane02 [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons)
From the video description (which is likely auto-translated from Chinese) what I could understand is that the driver was not afraid of losing control of the car because of the low center of gravity via the heavy battery pack in the floor. Also, on the first lap, he felt that the temperature of the brakes was too high and the car was alerting him of the situation. However, later on, he was able to control this by using regenerative braking which he previously had turned off.
Above: Video of the Tesla Model 3 Performance completing a lap at the Nürburgring race track (Youtube: Jay in Shanghai)
The driver of the Tesla Model 3 Performance entered the Nürburgring race circuit with a 90% battery. Still, the launch must have given a heart attack to the BMW in front as he just vanished into the side view mirror (goodbye ICE monster).
The Tesla Model 3 Performance has been giving a tough time to ICE and electric cars on the drag strip, and, recently frying a Porsche 911 GT2 RS taking Nico Rosberg (2016 Formula One World Champion) by surprise and rest of the world as well.
If sometime in the future Tesla decides to deploy its Ludicrous Mode, legacy race cars could be history (at least in the 1/4 mile drags). Tesla just pushed an over the air software update that increased the Peak Power output of its cars by 5% resulting in improved acceleration and performance (beat that, will ya!).
===
Written by: Iqtidar Ali. An earlier version of this article originally appeared on X Auto.