Modified Tesla Sets Record

[Meldoon]

Left some pretty impressive cars in it’s rear view mirror……or, camera, as it were…..



ByWilliam Johnson
Posted on May 20, 2023
A highly modified Tesla Model S Plaid, built by Unplugged Performance, has set yet another lap record, but this time, it was on accident.

It is no secret that when it comes to modified Tesla vehicles, few come close to the expertise or success garnered by Unplugged Performance. With their custom suspension and aero-kits, they have been pushing Tesla vehicles to their absolute limit. Now, one of UP’s most awarded vehicles, a Model S Plaid nicknamed “Dark Helmet,” has set yet another lap record, but this time, it was on accident.

Unplugged Performance published the video of the lap record being broken late on Friday, showing off the astounding speed its Model S Plaid has achieved on the Willow Springs raceway in California.

As noted by UP, the Model S Plaid’s incredible 1:20.03 lap was potentially the best accident the group could have ever wished for. According to FastestLaps, the Tesla crushed its nearest competition, a highly modified Porsche 911 GT2 RS, by over a second. Other top performers beat by Dark Helmet include a Dodge Viper ACR Mark V, a McLaren 720S, a Lamborghini Huracán Performante, and a Porsche 918 Spider, just to name a few. Credit: FastestLap
In a comment to Teslarati, Unplugged Performance notes that the lap record was achieved during a Pikes Peak testing lap. “The record lap was the 3rd hot lap during this testing session which began with an already heat-soaked battery,” UP notes. “It is easy to see the car has more potential left in it.”

This is certainly not the first time UP’s Tesla Model S Plaid has secured a lap record, and it isn’t even the first time we have coved it. Since the build began, the Dark Helmet build alone has secured lap records at Willow Springs, Pikes Peak, Button Willow, and Laguna Seca just to name a few.

The Dark Helmet build is one of UP’s most track-ready vehicles they currently operate. Besides the stripped interior, which has been fitted with a race-prepped roll cage, the car has been equipped with UP’s most advanced suspension setups to date, an incredible set of carbon ceramic brakes, and numerous carbon fiber components.

[John]

Thanks Meldoon. Very fast and fascinating indeed. And yet to me, not a car I would want.

At the same those same amount of all out race car modifications having been done to the # 2 lap record holder, the Porsche GTS RS, would it not have gone even faster than the Dark Helmet?

[Meldoon]

Thanks Meldoon. Very fast and fascinating indeed. And yet to me, not a car I would want.

At the same those same amount of all out race car modifications having been done to the # 2 lap record holder, the Porsche GTS RS, would it not have gone even faster than the Dark Helmet?

The article states “the Tesla crushed its nearest competitor a highly modified Porsche 911 GT2 RS“ by over a second……🤷🏼♂️

[SheepDog]

Happy for the EV tribe. How fast would a rocket car do it? Jet Car? Nuclear car? Magnetic?

Electro magnetic force has so many expressions that may be faster than gas.

But. ICE is special. Multiple engine configurations. 4 v 2 stroke. Cylinder count. Crank shaft variations. V vs. Boxer vs. W vs Flat. Firing orders. Stroke and Bore variations. Naturally aspirated vs TT vs. SC. Tranny options. Exhaust systems. Sounds. Sensations. And a lot of variables I don't know about. Cams. Valve systems.

If the ICE is disappears. That will be like loosing Chess, and Go, and Horse racing, and Baseball, and Golf and the NFL and boxing. All Replaced by a video game system.

[Hoffer362]

Impressive, but ugly!

[Meldoon]

Impressive, but ugly!

Agreed……what do they call thing attached to the front end?

[Hoffer362]

Agreed……what do they call thing attached to the front end?

It's a splitter ... mega downforce

[Foosh]

I question the claim that the Pobst 991 GT2 RS lap was in a "highly-modified" car. The GT2 RS is no longer available in the 992 gen (it's a GT3 RS now), but if I recall correctly, it was tested in a street legal configuration as equipped the way they were delivered to customers back then.

Since the GT racing world has now harmonized on the GT3 standard, Porsche's has done the same with their track-focused 911 and no longer offers the GT2 configuration.

That Tesla is far from street legal.

[Meldoon]

Apples to Watermelons…….

[topfuelman]

But how many laps can it run before it runs out of "juice"? Don't think the "bulldozer" front end will catch on. And wait till it catches fire; then the fun REALLY begins!

[SheepDog]

from The News Week Bulletin 5/27BY JESS THOMSON ON 5/26/23 AT 5:10 AM EDT Scientists Make Electricity From Thin Air

Derek Lovley/Ella Maru Studio/University of Massachusetts Amherst

TL/DR: "We are opening up a wide door for harvesting clean electricity from thin air," Xiaomeng Liu, the paper's lead author, said. Taking the feeling of being energized by a dose of fresh air to a whole new level, scientists at UMass Amherst's College of Engineering have invented a groundbreaking new device that can generate electricity from thin air, potentially offering an effectively limitless source of renewable energy. Electricity can be harvested from the air using a so-called "Air-gen" deceive made of nearly any material, merely requiring the material to be dotted with nanopores less than 100 nanometers in diameter—around 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, according to the team. The holes' minuscule diameters match the distance a single water molecule can travel before colliding with another molecule of the same substance. So as humid air passes through the Air-gen's holes, the water molecules come into contact with first an upper, then lower chamber in the material, creating a charge imbalance and thus electricity, much like a cloud creates lightning. What happens now? The researchers behind the Air-gen hope that their discovery could help generate electricity from thin air across the world, using any material. All air has at least some level of humidity, meaning Air-gen operators would not have to worry about cloud placement (a la solar power) or the wind. The scientists believe that Air-gens could be stacked in order to scale up the amount of electricity generated, without thousands of devices theoretically able to deliver kilowatt-level power for general electrical utility usage. Deeper reading: Scientists Figure Out How To Make Electricity From Thin Air

[5632]

I'll bet Tesla holds the record also for the most fires.

[3 Z06ZR1]

Impressive, but ugly!

E for Edsel!

[3 Z06ZR1]

I'll bet Tesla holds the record also for the most fires.

Also the most TIRES!