Electric cars are crazy fast too. I wonder how long it will be before we see our first electric car designed to handle a track day. I wonder how bad the range would be affected and if heat of the electric motor would be any kind of issue during extreme use like it would in a gas car.

 

That's one crazy trunk lid. What's the frunk look like?

 

Not my front, obviously, but you get the idea. There is actually quite a bit of room there. That bag is for the mobile charger cable for plugging into outlets. It comes with 3 common adapters.

 

The Model 3 will be killer at the track. Especially the Performance Upgrade Package version with it's upgraded rotors and pads (which is what I have... 20" wheels and upgraded rotors/pads/calipers). The newer motors/battery in the 3 won't easily overheat. The only downside is the decreased acceleration vs. what state of charge you're at.


Check out the Mountain Pass channel. He's got rotor/suspension/other upgrades in the works.

Non-performance pads on the base* models (There is Long Range RWD*/Long Range AWD*/Long Range AWD Performance*/Long Range AWD Performance with Performance Upgrade Package... sigh!!!) aren't up to the task. This is one heavy car. But driving it around, you'd never know.

This owner of a Long Range RWD took his to Laguna Seca.

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/thre...a-seca.109818/

 

Here's another fun vid.

This is the "slow" Model 3. Long Range RWD which is 0-60 at about 5.1 seconds.


Base Performance model at the drag strip has clocked 11.7 in the 1/4 mile.

 

Spent a couple of hours at the local Porsche dealership today. After eyeballing the Mecan for a while online, I thought I'd see it in person. I came away with a whole bunch of answers and info between the base model, the S, the GTS and the Turbo. In my research, the base wasn't in consideration because of lackluster performance, and the Turbo wasn't in consideration because of astronomical pricing. That left the S and the GTS, separated by 20hp and 30 in of torque. That, and the air suspension and some trim considerations is all that differs between the two. (That, and $15k, LOL)

The overall dimensions are fine and as expected. The mid-level sport(ish) seats are also fine. No thigh support, but adequate (nonadjustable) torso support. The cabin layout is very rewarding, kind of fancy, and very upscale. The rear visibility is absolutely horrendous. OMG, it's a tiny porthole into what's behind you.

I drove a 2017 S model, and came away super disappointed. There was zero throttle response. None whatsoever. The power delivery was mushy and slow, and the overall experience of straight-line performance was slow compared to my G. The PDK dual-clutch transmission was excellent on the up-shifts, and jarring on the downshifts. Flappy paddles rotate with the wheel, which was nice. And self-shifting was fun for like 3 minutes. After that... yawn. Lastly, the car couldn't handle worth a bucket of crap. However, the brakes were excellent.

Welp. That sucked. But at least it's out of my head now.

 

I'm sure it will be fast in a straight line, but an actual track day at a road course looks like a bit much for the Model 3 at this point. I watched most of the video of the modified Model 3 on track and there was a lot of understeer and interruption by the stability control system. It was also tough to get a good feel for how the car handles as the driver they had in that video was not very smooth with his inputs. It looked like he was trying to set the record for entry speed into every corner.

I think it could be capable, but my concern would be with range. When you drive an electric car at full power 100% of the time the range drops very quickly. Most tracks do not have chargers so this could be a real problem. My favorite track is just over an hour's drive away. If I drove there and back I might have enough charge for 1 or 2 sessions on the track. I'm sure future electric cars could be more track focused, but they are not quite there yet.

That's a bummer. I would expect more from a Porsche too.

 

That's the worst when you're disappointed like that. I felt that way back in the 90s with the Caprice Impalla SS. Loved that car so much. Wanted one so badly. But I test drove it and it completely sucked. Ugh. So I got a Maxima instead. lol

 

 

Looks sharp LocNar!

 

So your Tesla looks good for a Tesla. But I hate how the Model 3 looks. It's frumpy. I'm sorry. It's just my opinion but bleh. The roadster is glorious. Hell even the semi truck looks bad ***. But the 3, S and god awful X...I can't stand they styling. If they make one more aggressively styled, I will entertain the idea.

 

 

That Impala SS was a unique car. I relate to that disappointment.

Starting with teaser pics back in 2005 to 2006, I was convinced the all new, retro design Camaro SS would be my next car. For a couple years I was daydreaming about that car, and couldn't wait for the release. Then all my ambition evaporated away when I finally sat in one at the autoshow. It was horrible. Then later that year, I test-drove it anyway. The car was a street monster, but felt wrong in every possible way. I was devastated, and ended up modifying my 2003 Maxima SE 6MT instead, while turning my next-car ambitions to the G37S 6MT.

 

Glad you got the opportunity to try it out yourself, but damn...I always assumed the lower trims for any Porsche were still pretty great. I want to know how the Turbo model compares, as I think that's the only one I'm interested in (I say that like I'm buying it soon ).

I know this is a pipe dream, but I'm hoping Acura will come out with something interesting here soon. Something akin to a G70 or Stinger.

 

I read they were going to have a dedicated TT V6 for the new Acura Type S but I haven't heard much more lately.