2.8-SECOND 0-60 SPRINT TIME IS NOW A $10,000 UPGRADE AWAY
Tesla's upgrade from Insane Mode to Ludicrous Speed is now available on the Tesla Model S, allowing the pure-electric sedan to make the sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds. That's down from a relaxed, gentle 3.2-second launch time.
This ... ridiculous upgrade, which has cut the sprint time by 10 percent, resulted from Tesla developing what it calls a "smart fuse" for the battery in the Model S. The company created a fuse for the main battery with its own lithium-ion battery and electronics that constantly monitor the electric current at the millisecond level, allowing it to cut the power with much greater precision than a standard fuse (which melts past a certain amperage). The practical result is that the car's drivetrain can safely increase the maximum amperage from 1,300 to 1,500 amps, giving the sedan a 10 percent improvement in the amount of amps that it can channel to the motor.
The quarter-mile time with Ludicrous Speed is now a breezy 10.9 seconds, with the sedan also improving its time to 155 mph by an impressive 20 percent (where permitted).
"Nobody was asking for Ludicrous Mode because it was too ludicrous," Tesla CEO Elon Musk told reporters on a conference call last week. "Insane Mode has been incredibly well received. We figured out from an engineering standpoint how to go beyond Insane, so we figured we should release that."
There is a price to pay for Ludicrous Speed, but it doesn't include being pancaked against the wall like in a Mel Brooks film. For an extra $10,000, Tesla will install the necessary hardware, while P85D model owners will be offered the same pack at a 50 percent discount plus the labor costs.
What other cars come close to Tesla's Ludicrous Speed? There are a few that are in the same neighborhood, but none of them are luxury sedans with a spacious interior. The Koenigsegg Agera R produces 1,140 hp from its turbocharged 5.0-liter V8 and makes the sprint to 60 in 2.7 seconds. The interior is just big enough for two people, a wallet and one of those zip bags airlines give away that has a pair of socks, toothpaste, a napkin and a sleep blinder. The Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SuperVeloce is on par with the Model S when it comes to Ludicrous Speed, achieving the same sprint time with a 6.5-liter V12 engine producing 740 hp and 509 lb-ft of torque.
In fact, just about the biggest coupe in terms of interior volume that's close to the Tesla's Ludicrous Speed is the Nissan GT-R, which makes the sprint in 2.9 seconds courtesy of a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 engine that produces 545 hp and 463 lb-ft of torque and all-wheel drive, which keeps it from standing in place.
There are plenty of sports cars in this sprint range really. But when it comes to sedans, you'd have to look at Brabus- and AMG-tuned Mercedes-Benz offerings, which, just due to their weight and features, offer sprint times in the mid-three seconds, depending on the model.
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