Tesla launches “ridiculously” powerful Model S P90D

Not long after the Tesla Model S P85D was launched, Tesla CEO Elon Musk assured us that an even more powerful car was on the way; he was not kidding. Recently, the 2016 Model S P90D was announced, and it will be an even higher-performing car than the P85 was, as crazy as that sounds.

By Musk’s own admission, the P90 is “ridiculous” in its power delivery. We’re talking about a 762—SEVEN-HUNDRED-AND-SIXTY-TWO—horsepower cavalry, with 503 hp coming from the rear motor, and 259 from the front. With these figures, the P90D will be the most powerful sedan available at retail, beating out the Dodge Charger Hellcat and its 707 hp HEMI V8.

While the Model S was already swift, this brings it into “certifiably insane” territory. 0-60 m.p.h. is said to take just 2.8 seconds (remember when the McLaren F1 supercar’s 3.6 second figure was impressive?), with the quarter-mile just clipping the 11-second barrier, at 10.9. Dominic Toretto might just have to swap his 1970 Charger R/T…

As far as the P90’s handling goes, it can allegedly reach 1.1gs on the skidpad, which, like the power, is supercar territory. We’re expecting a 20 per cent improvement over the P85D all performance categories.

The magic of all of this is a new battery that’s good for 90kWh (hence “P90D”), which allows the performance to improve without affecting range; the P90D should be good for the same 485 km as the P85. A cynic, however, might expect a 490 km range…

Those that just purchased a P85D need not fret; a conversion to “90” spec can be done for $5,000. However, when new, thee P90D costs an additional $10,000 over the P85D.