It's a Tesla Model S with a carbon widebody kit

The Tesla Model S is many things – fast, clever, luxurious – but exciting to look at, it’s not. Enter Unplugged Performance, who’s treated a Model S to a SEMA makeover via a rather striking carbon bodykit.

The Unplugged S-APEX is considerably more muscular than standard. Its carbon kit comprises 19 pieces and adds 80mm to the Model S’s width, allowing wider tyres for better handling.

Beneath the skin, Unplugged has added lots of the stuff we’ve sampled on its modified Model 3. So there’s carbon ceramic brakes (which cut 9kg) and bespoke suspension, with new shocks that work hand-in-hand with the Model S’s adjustable air set-up. There's a set of lightweight wheels too, albeit here they're carbon and measuring 20in (but available as 19s and 21s).

This is a SEMA show car, so it uses the feistiest Model S on offer, the P100D. With the S-APEX’s better aero and lighter weight, Unplugged promises an even quicker 0-60mph time than Tesla’s own 2.3secs. Yikes. We’re also promised a quarter-mile time beginning in the 10s.

Inside, there’s even more carbon, as well as copious Alcantara and some rich quilted leather. The idea is you go to Unplugged and list your favourite colours, materials and suchlike and they’ll concoct something that suits, so everything you see here can be overhauled completely if you’re getting your own wallet out.

“Tesla’s focus on production line speed and the streamlining of vehicle configuration options satisfies the mass market, however a select few discerning Tesla enthusiasts still prefer a car that has been given the personalised attention and craftsmanship one might expect from an exotic car,” says Unplugged boss Ben Schaffer.

Accordingly, you can apply the widebody kit to any Model S, not just the big-boy P100D. Unplugged says the S-APEX kit will start at $30,000 (around £25k) but naturally that doesn’t involve the donor car. Add it to a brand new P100D and your bill’s going to top £130,000. But given how flexible Unplugged are to your desires, you can spend even more if you’re so inclined.

What do you reckon? The future of tuner cars?

Images: Taylor Brodsky