Welcome to our £10k challenge! Here at PWRD, we design and manufacture high-quality performance and uprated parts for Tesla models right here in the UK. Our mission is simple: to prove that electric vehicles can be just as thrilling for enthusiasts as their petrol-powered counterparts — and we set out to demonstrate that with our boldest project yet.
The plan: take the UK’s cheapest Tesla Model 3 Performance, a tired, 100,000-mile, ex-fleet workhorse, and transform it into a track-day machine capable of tackling the infamous Nürburgring. Brave or foolish? Time will tell, but most importantly is the hardcore track community open-minded enough to take this proposition seriously?
But before we get to that, here are our first impressions of how the UK's cheapest Model 3P has held up to over 100k distinclty unloved miles.
Why This Project Matters
The performance aftermarket has largely ignored EVs, focusing instead on traditional ICE platforms. But with early-generation electric cars now hitting the used market in droves — often at a fraction of their original cost — we believe there’s a huge opportunity for us more open-minded enthusiasts to reconsider our opinions on performance EV.
More importantly for us, Project03 gives us a platform for our ongoing test and development program. After all, if we can turn this tired car into a fully credible Nürburgring racer with our simple bolt-on upgrades, we can be confident in the knowledge that these same mechanical parts will perform faultlessly on our customers' daily drivers.
So, for a barely believable price of just under £10,000 (plus some auction fees), we picked up our example: a tatty, dirty, but mechanically complete Model 3 Performance. At this price, it was the cheapest M3P in the UK - or at least, the cheapest non-crashed example.
Once a £52,000 flagship, it still packs 500hp, dual-motor AWD, 0–60 in just over 3 seconds, and a claimed 160mph top speed.
It even has Tesla’s Track Mode with adjustable torque bias, an integrated dashcam, and a lap timer — features you’d pay a premium for in any other performance car.
A perfect 50:50 weight distribution, plus lower centre of gravity than any ICE car are all sound fundamentals that will help us with our challenge. Best of all, it still has three years and 20,000 miles of battery warranty left!
Of course we considered basing our project on the latest Model 3 Performance 'Highland' model. The newest car brings numerous evolutionary hardware and software upgrades that would have made it a better base for us. But part of our challenge - and proof-of-concept - made a car right at the opposite end of the price-range feel more appropriate. So, for once (much) cheaper was definitely better.
Buyer beware...?
Not going to lie; we were a little nervous to meet our 'new' car.
Honestly, after a very deep clean, this 100k mile Tesla drove almost as well as newer, low-mileage Model 3 Performances do. Battery health is not noticeably deteriorated, and range shows the same as a 30,000 mile car promises.
Coming next - Part 2: the build story
Read how we modified our Model 3 from fleet car to track car.
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