On November 22, 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted his excitement about the Model S Plaid, exclaiming “Model S Plaid is sickkkk!!!!” accompanied by an image.
In this context, “sick” is not referring to illness but is a term of praise similar to “awesome”. Musk also replied to a fan’s comment, @Jay in Shanghai, indicating that the Model S Plaid may be released in China in March 2022.
Just as we were wondering why Musk suddenly tweeted this, an exciting optional accessory was recently added to the Tesla online store.
This is a $20,000 carbon-ceramic brake kit specifically designed for the Model S Plaid, expected to be available in mid-2022.
The kit includes:
- Front and rear 410mm carbon ceramic brake discs
- Front 6-piston and rear 4-piston brake calipers
- High-performance brake pads and brake fluid.
The price of $20,000 for the kit is actually not too expensive. The 410mm carbon-ceramic brake discs are larger than the 401mm discs found on the BMW M5. Furthermore, the front and rear calipers are of a monoblock construction, providing increased rigidity. As seen in the picture, the brake discs are fixed using a floating method that helps eliminate stress caused by thermal deformation while optimizing the positioning of brake pads on the discs, thereby providing an improved initial feel.
Additionally, the four-piston brake calipers used on the rear axle also integrate an EPB (Electronic Parking Brake), which is a very rare feature.
For more information about braking systems, you can also check out this Braking System IntroductionThe current Model S Plaid, in its present market state, has achieved a lap time of 7 minutes and 35.579 seconds at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. With the addition of the carbon-ceramic brake kit and potential future aftermarket performance components, I believe the handling and track performance of the Model S Plaid will be further improved.
We are also curious about the track performance of the recently delivered Lucid Air Dream Edition, which is also a high-performance three-motor four-door electric sedan, and whether it has the ability to compete with the Model S Plaid.
Lastly, do you think a $20,000 brake kit is expensive?
🔗Source: Tesla Official Online Shop
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.