Tesla Model 3 impresses former rally champion after high-speed testing

The Tesla Model Performance has impressed former champion rally driver Wyatt Knox, who recently drove the electric sedan in a high-speed driving test on a challenging icy course. The session, which was conducted on the training grounds of the Team O’Neil Rally School in New Hampshire, saw the veteran driver evaluate the Model 3 Performance as a potential vehicle for rally events.

By the end of his session with the electric sedan, Knox observed that the Model 3 Performance handled very well, describing the car’s handling as “fantastic” in a conversation with Teslarati. The rally veteran noted that the Model 3 Performance’s Track Mode was used in the tests, and that the vehicle was equipped with Pirelli Sottozero winter tires. Despite the session having been conducted in single-digit weather, Knox observed that the Model 3’s battery consumption during the tests was nothing out of the ordinary as well.

The professional driver noted that the difference-maker lies in the Model 3 Performance’s dual motors, which allows the electric car to “do a lot of things that a normal AWD car cannot.” It should be noted that Knox’s point of comparison here is conventional rally cars, which are already frighteningly powerful in their own right. Rally cars, for one, are famed for their brutal acceleration, allowing them to reach highway speeds in unpaved terrain.  

“Because of the dual motors, (the Model 3 Performance’s dual motors) can infinitely vary the amount of drive to the front and rear however much it is programmed to, based on your steering angle, throttle position, brake position, yaw sensor, wheel speed sensors, probably more that I’m not even aware of. A Subaru or an Audi or something with one engine driving a normal transmission and center diff cannot do that,” Knox stated.

Coupled with Track Mode’s optimizations, which are designed to maximize the vehicle’s capabilities on a racetrack, these characteristics allowed for superb handling of the Model 3 Performance.  Referring to the car’s potential later, Knox remarked that if Tesla eventually allows owners to “tune” their vehicles by allowing them to adjust their cars’ settings, it could open up a lot of doors for the top-trim Model 3 to perform even more impressively.

“The Tesla dual motor (system) could theoretically be 100% front wheel drive, 100% rear wheel drive, or any mix of the two. That’s not how it’s really programmed to work, but that’s the tech it’s based on. That opens a LOT of really interesting doors. If you could plug in and ‘tune’ the system to your application, yeah, that would be would be a game changer,” the rally driver wrote.

Elon Musk actually mentioned a rather similar feature in an interview with YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee. During his conversation, Musk described Track Mode’s capabilities, comparing the feature to an “expert user mode” for a computer. Musk noted that if drivers are daring enough, they would be able to “overclock” their electric cars’ performance.

“Track Mode will open up a lot of settings. You can adjust settings, and it’s kinda like an ‘Expert User Mode.’ You can sort of adjust traction control, adjust battery temperature. You can basically configure a bunch of things, and it will tell you, like ‘Hey, you know if you do this, it’s a bit risky. You’re gonna wear out your brakes sooner; you might blow a circuit.’ But like, it’ll be clear — like, you know, this is the risk you’re taking. It’s kinda like if you have a graphics card in a computer. You can go in there and change the settings and you can overclock things,” Musk said.

The idea of utilizing an electric vehicle for rally events is already part of the World Rally Championship’s roadmap. Earlier this month, the WRC announced that it would be moving forward with an electric or hybrid solution from 2022. With this in mind, the sight of the Model 3 Performance ripping through the woods, in loose gravel and snow, might eventually be commonplace. For former champion, at least, the idea of using the Model 3 Performance as a rally vehicle is definitely something that is very welcome.

The Model 3 and its Track Mode has already been proven on the track. In a recent segment, for example, Chinese auto group Know the Car tested the Model 3 Performance on the racetrack, pitting it against fellow electric cars, high-performance sedans, and supercars. The Model 3 Performance dominated in straight line acceleration in the group’s tests. In actual track tests, the Model 3 Performance proved competitive, beating similar class cars, the BMW M3 and the Mercedes-AMG C63, around the track.

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