We had some time with a brand new Tesla Model S P85D to do some initial testing before our StreetCarDrags event on January 18th, 2015 where we’ll have 12 Tesla Model S cars racing themselves and other exotic cars down the drag strip at Palm Beach International Raceway. Since the Florida weather provided us with pouring rain all day and the track was closed, performance testing wasn’t quite an option, although as you’ll see later, we did some launches in the rain and the Tesla did amazing.

Instead we headed over to see Jack at Horsepower Logic in Royal Palm Beach, FL to strap the all new and super powerful Tesla on the dyno to see just how much power, or torque rather, the new car would put down to the wheels. The new Model S P85D has two motors, 471HP in the rear and 221HP in the front for a combined motor power of 691 horsepower as per Tesla’s website, but no mention of torque. With a 4,900 pound curb weight and a 0-60 MPH times of just 3.2 seconds as per Tesla, the car must be putting down some serious power, and it did just that on the dyno.

Since we know from past dyno results on the previous Model S P85 with just one motor rated at 415HP, most of the big torque and power is down low, so we attempted to start the dyno pulls as slow as possible. However, the instant torque of the P85D spun the tires on the Mustang 4WD dyno during first few attempts, causing the car to pull back power. After a couple more tries, we were able to successfully roll into the power low enough to get some big results with the P85D putting down 864 ft-lbs of torque to the wheels during multiple runs. While the car doesn’t hold that torque number for very long as you can see in the graph below, it’s long enough to propel the Tesla off the line amazingly well, putting a grin on everyone’s face who tried it after the dyno sessions were over.

It should be noted that while the torque falls of pretty quick on the dyno and it’s noticeable when driving on the street, Tesla states that the full potential of the P85D has not been fully released yet and that future software updates will provide even more power at higher speeds.

The P85D top speed is currently electronically-limited to 130 mph. In the coming months, we will be able to upgrade the car free of charge to enable a 155 mph top speed. This free update will be available for the lifetime of the car (not limited to the first owner). Additionally, an over-the-air firmware upgrade to the power electronics will improve P85D performance at high speed above what anyone outside Tesla has experienced to date. In other words, the car will be better than you experienced. This free upgrade will be rolled out in the next few months, once full validation is complete.

Take a look at the dyno graph and video below and check back soon for some performance testing and interesting match ups for the new Tesla P85D.

Also check out a heads up race between the P85D (691HP) and the P85. (415HP).