Tesla Model X Performance 'Raven' Impresses In One Lap

What a difference the Raven update makes!

Domenick Yoney

By: Domenick Yoney

Apr 28, 2020 at 5:30pm ET

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The Tesla Model X 100D Performance isn't exactly a track car. Even with the so-called "Raven" update that arrived in 2019 and saw it and its Model S stablemate receive more powerful, more efficient motors, adaptive suspension, and silicon carbide (SiC) power electronics, among other things.

Sure, it's quicker than the non-Performance version around a closed circuit, but it's still a heavy, battery-powered SUV. It weighs in at a hefty 5,531 pounds. That doesn't mean you can't take it on a track, as you can see in this fresh video from the new-minted One Lap YouTube channel (above).

If you need a reminder, this channel, produced by Kyle Conner of Out Of Spec Motoring fame (he's also been a guest on the InsideEVs Podcast), is geared specifically towards taking vehicles of all sizes and descriptions around the same two-mile track at the North Carolina Center For Automotive Research. They aren't driven at 10/10ths, but they are pushed hard enough to reveal their strengths and weaknesses close to the limits of their drivetrains and mechanical grip.

In the case of the Model X Performance, the lap is a bit of a revelation. Conner has already put a non-Performance, non-Raven Model X through its paces here, but the "Raven" is a bird of a different feather, if you'll pardon the expression.

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Even without engaging the newly revised launch mode with "Cheetah" stance, its 823 horses (614 kW) pull hard from a standstill, hustling the SUV to turn one in a hurry. It's there that the new adaptive suspension makes itself known, making the X more eager to turn in and adding more composure as it gets tossed left and right through the chicane-ry the circuit offers.

In the end, this version of Tesla's falcon-winged family wagon completed the single orbit a whole four seconds quicker than its non-Performance counterpart, turning in a 1:51.78 result. Beyond the raw numbers, though, the fun-to-drive component seemed markedly better. If you haven't tapped the play button above, go ahead now and enjoy!

Source: One Lap