Part 3: Getting on Track – Project03 Makes its Nürburgring Debut

Just a few short months ago, we took a leap of faith and bought the UK’s cheapest Tesla Model 3 Performance — sight unseen, straight from an auction.

It was high-mileage, ex-fleet, and frankly, a bit tatty. The sort of car most people would keep well away from a race track. But we saw potential.

Blog: Part 1: our first impressions of the UK's cheapest M3P

Fast-forward through a complete rebuild with the full PWRD catalogue of Tesla Performance Upgrades, and it was time to stop talking and start proving. Destination: the Nürburgring.

Blog: Part 2: modifying our Tesla Model 3 for the Nurburgring 

Not for a few leisurely tourist laps, mind you. We wanted to throw Project03 straight into the deep end. The goal? To prove that a properly set-up electric vehicle can be every bit as quick — and just as thrilling — as its petrol-powered rivals. And to convince some of the most hard-to-impress Nürburgring veterans of that fact.

 

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The Green Hell, up close

Before letting our chosen test pilots loose, we sneaked in some installation laps of the legendary Nordschleife. For the uninitiated, it’s not just a circuit — it’s 20.8km of unforgiving tarmac with 73 corners, 300 metres of elevation change, and precious little run-off. All of it winding through the beautiful but intimidating Eifel mountains.

The Nürburgring isn’t about chasing one perfect lap time; it’s about surviving — and thriving — on a track that throws every conceivable challenge at a car: blind crests, off-camber bends, surface changes, and bumps that can shake even the most sorted chassis. It’s why PWRD, along with countless manufacturers and tyre companies, chooses to test here. If a car works at the ‘Ring, it’ll work anywhere.

 

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From auction bargain to pit-lane oddity

Rolling into the paddock for a ‘Destination Nürburgring’ track day, Project03 found itself nose-to-nose with an army of GT Porsches and track-prepped BMW M cars. Ours was comfortably the cheapest car there — probably by a factor of four or five. Imposter syndrome? Absolutely.

Out on the damp circuit, caution was the first instinct — but within a couple of corners, the Tesla reminded us why we’d built it. Acceleration was savage, traction rock-solid, and gone was the vague, rubbery feel of the standard suspension. Thanks to fresh spherical bearings in place of the worn bushings, the steering felt precise and planted.

Push harder, and the upgrades really shone. The low centre of gravity combined with uprated anti-roll bars gave the car incredible balance through quick direction changes. Front-end grip was outstanding, helped by increased camber and caster, which made the steering far more communicative in the mixed conditions.

The new coilovers handled the Nürburgring’s notorious bumps, crests, and kerbs with calm composure, keeping the car flat and neutral where stiffer cars were twitching nervously in the damp. And the brakes — a renowned Tesla weak link on track — held up lap after lap. Our uprated discs and pads delivered fade-free stopping power, even after repeated heavy use. Surprised and impressed us, to be honest.

With the weather limiting consistent lap times, none of our drivers managed to record an indicative 'Ring time - we'd rather hoped we'd be able to claim a Model 3 record!  But really, that's not what this trip was about. What we do know for sure is that Project03 was hanging with modified BMW M2/3/4s through straights, braking and cornering — and doing it without drama. Not bad for our £10k auction find.

 

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Enter the critics

But impressing ourselves was never the mission. To really test the concept, we handed the keys (or, to be accurate, the card) to three men you do not easily win over:

• Ben Collins – ex-Stig, professional racer

• Misha Charoudin – Nürburgring driver and YouTube sensation

• Paul Cowland – TV presenter and 15-year ‘Ring veteran

None of them are EV evangelists. Probably none wanted to like a £10k Tesla. We’ll let their on-track footage do the talking in a future blog — but let’s just say Project03 made more than a few people rethink their assumptions.

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Some honest truths about running a Tesla on track

We learned a few things during our trip:

1. Charging
Three Nürburgring laps per full charge was comfortable; four was possible with steadier driving or wetter conditions. The nearest Tesla Supercharger was 1km away and never busy. A 90% recharge took around 35 minutes — just enough time for a coffee and driver change. For context, we’ve run powerful ICE cars here that needed refuelling every five laps.

We found that a hot-lap used about 80 miles of remaining displayed range, despite being only about 12 miles around the track.

2. Overheating
Track use has famously caused some Teslas to limit power drastically for thermal protection, but in all our (hot, but damp) August sessions — with very quick drivers — we never had a single power drop. Running zero regen braking (thanks to our uprated brake setup) and Tesla’s latest Track Mode thermal updates likely played a big part.

3. The trip itself
Driving from the UK via France, Belgium, and Germany was painless. The car plotted a smooth chain of Supercharger stops, and while the Tesla needed to stop every couple of hours - roughly twice as often as the petrol car travelling with us - several of the stops were only 15–20 minutes. Frankly, our need for a comfort break coincided perfectly with the Tesla's. 

Not as convenient as ICE, sure — but the final £210 total charging bill versus the petrol car’s £600 fuel cost softened any inconvenience of the extra stops rather nicely.

 

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Conclusion

Project03 isn’t just a fun build — it’s proof. Proof that with the right upgrades, an electric car can not only survive the Nürburgring, but genuinely belong there.

Fancy doing it yourself?  Do it; we've proven to ourselves that there's nothing to be afraid of.  Pick some choice modifications for your Tesla - there's no need to go as far as we have with Project03's mod list, and follow in our footsteps. We've lodged a set of memories and experiences that'll live with us for a very long time.

For us, that’s mission accomplished.