Tesla Model S Plaid ‘Track Package’ unveiled with 320km/h top speed

Tesla Model S Plaid ‘Track Package’ unveiled with 320km/h top speed

The Tesla Model S Plaid has finally unlocked its promised 322km/h top speed with a new ‘Track Package’ – bringing carbon-ceramic brakes, lighter wheels and track-day tyres.

US electric-vehicle giant Tesla has unveiled a high-performance $AU30,000 ‘Track Package’ for its Model S Plaid sedan – finally unlocking the 200mph (322km/h) promised when it was unveiled two years ago.

Tesla claims the ‘standard’ Model S Plaid’s three electric motors can deliver up to 760kW and 1424Nm – good for a projected top speed of 322km/h – but since it was introduced in the US in 2021 it has been speed-limited to 262km/h, and later 282km/h.

It has also been criticised by owners for small steel brakes which can fade quickly after repeatedly slowing down the 2.2-tonne vehicle from high speeds on a racing circuit.

However, Tesla’s new ‘Track Package’ – now on sale in the US for $US20,000 ($AU30,000) – unlocks its full, promised top speed, and promises to perform better on a weekend ‘track day’ thanks to upgraded brakes and sticky supercar tyres.

The Track Package includes six-piston front brake calipers and four-piston rear calipers, 410mm-diameter carbon-silicon rotors – similar to other high-end supercars and sports sedans – plus upgraded brake pads and “track-ready brake fluid”.

The bigger brakes sit behind new-look 20-inch ‘Zero-G’ wheels, shod in track-ready Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3R tyres – measuring 285/35 and 305/30 at the front and rear, respectively.

These tyres were first developed for the track-focused ‘1LE’ versions of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and SS muscle cars – and other versions of these tyres are available on high-end Porsche models.

When the carbon brakes and sticky tyres are fitted at a Tesla service centre, the Model S Plaid’s claimed top speed can be increased to 322km/h (200mph) through a software upgrade – up 60km/h from its ‘standard’ top speed of 262km/h.

In January 2022, Tesla launched a ‘Track Mode’ for the Model S Plaid, which optimised the electric car’s cooling, torque vectoring and adjustable suspension software – and increased its top speed to 282km/h.

It is unclear if Tesla will take the Model S Plaid back to Germany’s Nurburgring race track with the Track Package to reclaim the production electric-car lap record, after it lost the title to the Porsche Taycan Turbo S in August 2022.

The Model S Plaid had previously held the record around the full 20.832km ‘Nordschleife’ circuit – with a time of seven minutes and 35.579 seconds – before Porsche went more than two seconds quicker with its most powerful Taycan.

According to Tesla’s US website, the Model S Plaid Track Package will be available to order for its North American customers from next month (June), priced from $US20,000 ($AU30,000) – which excludes the $US107,490 ($AU159,000) price of the electric car.

As reported last month, the return of the Tesla Model S and Model X to Australia is uncertain, after pre-orders for the electric vehicles were paused without warning.

While the Tesla Model S has been available in North America since it received a significant facelift in 2021, the updated electric car has not yet been delivered in right-hand-drive markets such as Australia.

The last Australian examples to join local roads arrived at the end of 2020.