Tesla says it could smash Porsche’s EV saloon record at the Nurburgring by almost 40 seconds

Tesla has suggested it could beat Porsche’s electric saloon lap record at the Nurburgring by nearly 40 seconds by making ‘some improvements’ to its test vehicle.

The American electric car maker has been testing a heavily modified Model S at the famous German circuit for the past week after Porsche set a record time with the Taycan, its new rival for that model.

Although Tesla hasn’t set an official time yet, track bystanders recorded it setting a time of around 7m 20s. The EV maker took to Twitter to confirm its tests indicate that time is possible, but “with some improvements, 7:05 may be possible when Model S returns next month”.

That would see the Porsche Taycan’s time of 7m 42m well and truly beaten – but critics are unimpressed with Tesla’s efforts. The Model S that has been testing has a new high-performance three-motor powertrain that will go on sale soon, but more importantly, it’s using track-focused semi-slick tyres. These would allow it to carry much higher speeds through corners — though the sets are not currently available to Tesla customers.

Furthermore, the car’s interior has been stripped to save weight and therefore improve lap times, it has rudimentary aerodynamic parts fitted to the bodywork that could improve high-speed stability and cornering speeds, and a wide-arch bodykit indicates it has a wider chassis than the standard car.

Meanwhile, the Porsche Taycan’s lap time was recorded in a production-specification car with standard road tyres.

While Nurburgring lap times are not officially sanctioned, it’s widely agreed that legitimate times can only be recorded using vehicles representative of those customers can buy in a showroom. Interior parts are usually only removed to offset the weight added by safety equipment such as a roll cage.