Cars and Drivers

Fastest Car Ever From 0 to 60 mph: Tesla Model S P100D

Paul Ausick

Published: February 7, 2017 2:34 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 3:04 pm

Motor Trend magazine said today that Tesla Inc.’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model S P100D is the quickest production car it has ever tested from a standstill to 30, 40, 50 and 60 miles per hour. The P100D reached 60 mph in just 2.2755 seconds. No other production car, ever, has beat 2.3 seconds.

The P100D sports all-wheel drive and a 100-kWh lithium-ion battery, and it weighs in at a hefty 4,891 pounds, nearly 1,500 pounds more than the McLaren P1 ($1.15 million), 1,200 pounds more than the Porsche 918 ($845,000) and 1,400 pounds more than Ferrari’s LaFerrari ($1.7 million). The P100D’s base price is $135,700.

Alas the three super cars pull ahead in the race to 70 and 80 mph, with the Ferrari passing the Model S at 70 mph and the others pulling away at 80 mph.

To get that performance from the car, the driver has set the software to “Ludicrous” mode. Here’s how Motor Trend describes what happens next:

[S]elect the Settings menu. Under Acceleration, press and hold the Ludicrous button for five seconds. As with the P90D, this prompts a warp screen of flashing lights followed by a screen that asks, “Are you sure you want to push the limits? This will cause accelerated wear of the motor, gearbox and battery.” The two buttons below are marked, “No, I want my Mommy,” and “Yes, bring it on!”

The P100D was launched last fall, but the Motor Trend test was completed only recently.

Tesla stock traded down less than 0.1% in the early afternoon Tuesday, at $257.74 in a 52-week range of $141.05 to $269.34. The 12-month price target is $240.94.