Yesterday we reported that Tesla reclaimed the Laguna Seca record for a production EV with a Model 3 Performance driven by an amateur, but now we can confirm that the Model S P100D officially holds the record.
Cameron Rogers, the Model 3 Performance owner who achieved the record time, told Electrek yesterday that a Model S P100D was also on the track the same day and being driven by Tesla’s team.
He saw the sedan achieve a record 1:43 time, but it wasn’t clear if it was good for the production EV record since Tesla’s development engineering team was with the car.
But now the driver of the vehicle, Emile Bouret, has claimed that the vehicle was “completely stock” and therefore, it should get the Laguna Seca lap record for a production EV:
Working with the development engineering team at Tesla during a track day at Laguna Seca, by happenstance, we managed to complete a lap in 1:43.06 with a completely stock Model S P100D, breaking the overall production EV lap record by 5.12 seconds. Happy happenstance, I’d say 😊 pic.twitter.com/BrYkNiS9Fx
— Emile Bouret (@EBouret) September 17, 2018
Bouret has been a pro-driver, test driver, car show presenter, and a car designer.
He did many driving events for Audi as the main driving instructor of the Audi Sports Car Experience, but he has also worked as a test driver to give his input on many development vehicles, including some of Tesla’s vehicles – a gig he says he got through his friendship with Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen.
We previously reported on him when he talked about testing the next-gen Roadster for Tesla.
Speaking of the next-gen Roadster, it’s on top of the list to beat that record by a significant margin when it does enter production.
Electrek’s Take
What most impresses me is that Rogers’ time in the Model 3 Performance is actually fairly close to Boulet’s in the significantly more powerful Model S P100D with Ludicrous mode.
Though as Rogers’ dad point out to me after my last article on this, while he is officially an amateur driver, he did win several Sports Car of American Road races.
So the ‘amateur versus pro’ aspect might not make a big difference, which is actually what we want when comparing the cars.
It looks like Tesla wanted to quickly shut Jaguar down after they took the record with the I-Pace, which made the lap in 1:48.
Tesla unsurprisingly crushed that time with the P100D.
As for the Model S being stock, I’ll give Tesla the benefit of the doubt, but that suspension looks much lower than normal on that picture. It might be from the cornering on that turn, but it’s hard to tell with the photo.
Bouret said that Tesla has a video of the lap. Come on Tesla, let’s see it.
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