A video of a Tesla Model 3 being tested at the Fremont factory test track is reported as the first sighting of a “performance Model 3 “, which is not expected to enter production until at least Spring 2018.
The automaker is currently only producing the new Model 3 with a long-range battery pack and rear-wheel-drive motor configuration.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has promised a performance version for the Model 3, but the vehicle is dependent on Tesla producing the dual motor powertrain for the Model 3.
For the past 3 years, Tesla’s performance vehicles (Model S and Model X) have been using dual motor powertrains, which is going to enter production in Spring 2018, according to the automaker.
Now the unofficial ‘Tesla Model 3 Owners Club’ posted a video of a Model 3 being tested on Tesla’s test track in Fremont and they claim that it’s “the first video of a performance Model 3”:
It’s not clear on what they are basing this claim beyond the look of the launch from a standstill, which is admittedly impressive, and the red calipers, which is not a great indicator but still interesting.
Tesla claims that the long-range Model 3 with a rear-wheel-drive motor can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and while it’s hard to estimate from a video, it certainly looked much faster than that.
Electrek’s Take
Based on the weight of the current Model 3 vehicles, a performance version could be around 1,000 lb lighter than the dual motor performance Model S.
Therefore, a dual motor performance Model 3 has the potential to be quite impressive from a standstill.
With this said, it sounds like we will have to wait a while before we can officially see the vehicle perform since again, the dual motor Model 3 powertrain is not expected to hit production until Spring 2018.
In the meantime, we can have fun speculating, especially with some mysterious spy video. How quick? How powerful? And how much?
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
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