Tesla Model S to get a full refresh, “Plaid” version at 200 mph



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Tesla on Wednesday evening unveiled a complete refresh for its Model S sedan and Model X SUV. The revised battery-electric vehicles will go into production in the coming weeks at the company’s Fremont, Calif., Plant and include new ones. interiors and exterior styling changes, but significantly both models will receive updated powertrains, including new battery packs, power electronics and drive units. And there are also “Plaid” versions of sedans and SUVs, the former with a 0-60mph time and a top speed of 200mph.

First introduced in 2012, the Model S received a minor refresh – including a new look for the front and a few small changes to the interior – in 2016. This time around, the work was much more drastic. Unlike the Model 3 and Model Y, the Model S still comes with a main dashboard in front of the driver, but like the smaller, cheaper Tesla BEVs, the large infotainment display is now in a landscape orientation. Tesla also added wireless charging for devices, a small screen for rear passengers, and has “10 teraflops of processing power” for “in-car gaming at the height of today’s latest consoles,” as well. as compatibility with wireless controllers.

The most visible change has to be the new steering wheel. Or rather, the yoke of leadership. While other automakers have experimented with flat-bottomed steering wheels (and even square wheels in the case of the Austin Allegro), the new Tesla controller owes more to the controls of a Boeing 747, or maybe KITT. of Knight rider (the original, not the mid-2000s remake with a Mustang). Presumably, Tesla expects Model S owners to use the car’s automated parking feature rather than parallel parking, an activity that invariably involves rotating the steering wheel more than 360 degrees.

You would have to take a new Model S apart to see the powertrain changes, which incorporate a lot of what Tesla has learned from the newer Model 3s and Ys. There are now three versions of the Model S. The 79 twin-engine Long. The $ 990 range has a range of 412 miles (663 km), operates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds, and tops out at 155 mph (250 km / h). This version should be available in March.

Around the same time, deliveries of a new $ 119,990 checkered Model S will also begin. This uses a three-engine powertrain with a total of 1,020 hp (760 kW), with a time of 0-60 mph in 2 seconds, a top speed of 200 mph (321 km / h) and a range of 390 miles. (628 km). Tesla says the new powertrain allows the Plaid Model S to do a lot more runs on the drag track before the battery thermal management system screams uncle.

If that’s still not enough, there’s the $ 139,990 Plaid + Model S, due out late 2021. This one has all the superlatives – 520 miles (836 km) of range, “1,100+ hp”. (~ 820 kW), and claims The fastest accelerating production car at 60 mph and the fastest 1/4-mile drag car of all time.

Model X was not ignored. The interior refresh of the three-row SUV looks a lot like the S-Model: a larger infotainment screen, a smaller main instrument screen, that steering yoke, and a second screen between the front seats for the central row of passengers. Expected in April, there are two variations. The $ 89,990 Long Range features a twin-engine powertrain, a range of 579 km (360 miles), and a 0-60mph time of 3.8 seconds. Above this version is the Plaid Model X at $ 119,990. It uses the same three-engine powertrain as the Plaid Model S, reaches 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds, and has a range of 340 miles (547 km).

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