Image: Brent Ely on YouTube
In a recently published YouTube video, Brent Ely documented his Model S Plaid’s performance at an Autocross event.
Autocross, also known as AutoX or Autoslalom, is a timed competition in which drivers are required to navigate a course, defined by traffic cones, that consists of several turns, twists, lane change maneuvers, slaloms, and more.
Participants are categorized into different classes depending on the car they’re driving, and a ‘Novice’ category is available for anyone new to the sport.
On an Autocross circuit, drivers run the course one at a time but are still in competition with all of the other drivers in their class. The driver with the fastest time on the course places first in their class, and so on.
The Tesla Model S Plaid claimed the crown of the fastest 0-60mph time for a production car shortly after launch. The all-electric luxury sedan has also proven to be an absolute beast at accelerating down a straight run on a drag strip. Recently, the Tesla Model S Plaid posted an 8.99 second 1/4 mile on a drag strip for the very first time.
However, an Autocross circuit, with its twists and turns and handling challenges, is no drag race.
In his third run of the day, Brent whizzed through the Autocross circuit in just 44.403 seconds, trailing just over a second behind another driver, Eric Brown, and his 2014 Subaru.
Brent’s fourth run wasn’t any better, but he did manage a 43.922 second time on his fifth run — his fastest for the day. Brent still fell just over 1 second short of Eric’s time, but Autocross is as much a test of handling and maneuverability as it is of sheer speed, and the showing was impressive nonetheless.
Check out the full video, which covers day one of a two-day Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) AutoX event, below:
