The EV doesn’t win them all.
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The Tesla Model S Plaid takes no prisoners at the drag strip, and one outing caught on camera shows the electric sedan doing just that. The video comes from the Drag Racing and Car Stuff YouTube channel, and it shows the four-door has plenty of electrons to crush some gas-powered competitors.
The Model S Plaid lines up against some worthy competitors, too, the likes of which most other cars would cower at meeting. The McLaren 720S has proven itself on the drag strip repeatedly, rocketing off blistering quarter-mile times.
The supercar packs a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine pumping out 710 horsepower (529 kilowatts) and 568 pound-feet (771 Newton-meters) of torque. It can reach 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in about 2.5 seconds.
However, the Tesla Model S Plaid boasts 1,020 hp (760 kW), and that’s enough to beat the McLaren in a drag race. The Tesla crosses the line with a 9.42-second time at 145.57 miles per hour (234.27 kilometers per hour). The McLaren was right on its bumper, completing the quarter-mile in 10.17 seconds at 139.5 mph (224.50 kph).
The Tesla has more breathing room against the Chevrolet Corvette C5. The Corvette doesn’t look stock, but it’s impossible to determine its specs. It’s much slower than the Tesla through the quarter-mile, completing the race in 12.04 seconds at 117.16 mph (188.55 kph). The Tesla did it in 9.37 seconds at 147.57 mph (237.49 kph).
The only drag race that the Tesla lost was against a Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa, which rocketed down the strip in 9.17 seconds at 152.2 mph (244.94 kph). While the Tesla lost, it also recorded its best time – 9.34 seconds at 148.27 mph (238.61 kph).
High-horsepower supercars and bikes are blisteringly quick, while vehicles like the Tesla Model S Plaid continue to show off the raw power of electricity. No one would argue that the McLaren is slow, or the Corvette, but they are slower than the Model S, and that’s what matters most in a drag race.