Berlin plant sourcing point for Tesla hottie

QUICKEST to 100 kilometres per hour from a standing start - but taking the longest route to get here.

In addition to announcing today that the Model Y Performance will be on sale here from late year for $100,900, Tesla regionally has also said the version won’t be out of the Shanghai factory that has become the sole sourcing point of NZ-market product.

Instead, the flagship Model Y will come to us from the factory that has been hardest hit by ongoing controversies surrounding CEO Elon Musk’s politics.

Taking the car out of the Giga Berlin-Brandenberg factory also presents the longest shipping distance for any Tesla yet sold here.

The Shanghai plant that became the sole provider once it ramped into Model 3 then Model Y production also became the closest to this market, being 9368 kilometres by sea.

Before that, and until the Model X and Model S were discontinued, cars came from the Fremont, San Francisco factory, 10486km from the make’s Auckland distribution centre. again, a trip across the Pacific Ocean.

The Berlin factory is 17,808km away, and also a more challenging voyage, because conceivably cars will be transhipped to a port in Europe, then sent here. Many car carriers navigate around Africa. Generally, cars consigned from Europe take several months to make it here.

Last stop before New Zealand will logically be Australia, as our neighbour is also taking German-made examples.

The export count will likely be small, but still perhaps welcome, as the Berlin plant’s primary role is to support Europe, where sales have been poor this year.

The covers came off the Model Y Performance last weekend and it has plenty of pep from taking the same pair of electric motors that got into the Model 3 Performance, it gets 343kW, with torque not divulged.

The dual motor Y Long Range that presently heads the NZ family as a $77,900 offer makes an estimated 290kW and 510Nm torque.

Tesla quotes a 3.5-second 0-100kmh sprint and top speed of 250kmh.

It also indicates the Performance’s set-up — which it calls the Performance Drive Unit — has 22 percent more continuous power, 32 percent more peak power, and 16 percent more peak torque than the alternate dual motor, in the Long Range.

Tesla doesn’t quote the usable capacity of its batteries, but it strongly indicates it is a version of the Y Long Range’s type, which is held to be a nickel manganese chemistry producing 75kWh. The battery has also been upgraded for the Performance, and Tesla claims that it now has higher energy density.

The make quotes average energy consumption of 26kWh/100km from the Performance, giving an official WLTP range of 580km - so 29km further than the Long Range.

The overall shape and styling that arrives with the newly installed facelift for regular Y is basically unchanged for the Performance, but there are some detail differences.

The racer achieves include 21-inch 'Arachnid 2.0' forged alloy wheels with integrated aero covers, red brake calipers, Performance badging on the boot, gloss black exterior trim, a carbon-fibre rear spoiler, Performance front seats with extra bolsters, carbon-fibre cabin trim, and aluminium pedals.

The suspension gets the same adaptive tech from the Model 3 Performance sedan, although Tesla says that the electronic control system for the suspension has been tweaked to provide “a balanced ride and handling character optimised for all driving scenarios.”

There have been mechanical tweaks too, such as new suspension knuckles, new springs, new anti-roll-bars, and new bushings for the suspension. The rear bodywork has also been altered for more stiffness.

The customisable driving modes between Normal and Sport alter the character of the adaptive suspension and the steering, as well as the power delivery.

The car’s big screen is also different, now measuring 16 inches across with thinner bezels, a higher resolution, and 80 percent more pixels, which theoretically results in a quicker and smoother response when pressed.