Mystery surrounds a Tesla Model S Plaid – one of the fastest electric sedans currently on sale – caught on camera leaving Ferrari’s factory in Italy.
Uploaded to YouTube by spy videographer Varryx, the Tesla Model S Plaid can be seen leaving the Maranello facility with ‘high voltage’ stickers on its bonnet, doors and boot, plus additional screens above its dashboard, connected to wires on the outside.
All of these features point to the Model S being used as a benchmark vehicle, though just what it was being compared to isn’t yet known.
Ferrari has previously announced its plans to launch an electric vehicle (EV) in 2025, with brand CEO Benedetto Vigna claiming it will be “unique” and developed through a “Ferrari lens”.
The Tesla Model S Plaid is capable of producing up to 761kW from its tri-motor powertrain, which helped it to set a time of seven minutes and 25.231 seconds around the 20.832km Nürburgring circuit in Germany – an electric production sedan record until the new Porsche Taycan dethroned it.
Ferrari could also be testing the Model S to implement some of Tesla’s EV expertise into its own hybrid systems, given more of its models are adopting electric power to complement their high-performance petrol engines.
The performance EV could also belong to a Ferrari employee, though the abundance of what appears to be data-logging equipment inside the Model S suggests this is unlikely.
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