1,500-HP Silverado Drag Races Model S Plaid, Someone Gets Gapped

It all started about 3 weeks ago when they came up with the first race, in which the Tesla had to go up against a 1,700-hp, twin-turbo Audi R8. Rated for over 1,000-hp, we know that the Model S Plaid is seriously fast, but it didn't stand a chance against the V10 monster. For episode two of the series, Hoonigan brought out a fairly loud Lamborghini Aventador SVJ. And that was like bringing a knife to a gunfight. The Lambo suffered a humiliating defeat, as you'd expect, given the difference in horsepower levels.

In a typical Hoonigan fashion, the next opponent was a strange one: a 130-hp Custom Yamaha Banshee. That made for a pretty close battle, but it was nowhere nearly as exciting as what they had up their sleeves next. Because for their latest episode, the Plaid would have to face a quarter-mile (402 meters) monster, to say the least. This 2004 Chevrolet Silverado is no sleeper. It has a twin-turbo 427 ci (7.0 liters) LSX up-front, and that's rated for about 1,500-horsepower. This truck is fitted with a Rossier TH 400 3-Speed gearbox, and it weighs in at 4,000 lbs (1,814 kg).

That means it has more power than the Tesla Model S Plaid and that it's also lighter. So regardless of how big a Plaid fan you are, it doesn't look like Elon's creation stands a chance in today's race. And the "grand jury" seems to feel the same way, as the only person that's betting on the Tesla is its owner. Up next, we get to see a classic Best Of 3 format, down a 1,000-ft (304 meters) stretch of tarmac. The Model S Plaid gets hammered from the get-go as the Silverado rockets into the lead.

The gap between the two cars by the end of it all is more than some people would have expected, and that goes to show that the internal combustion engine is not a thing of the past just yet. To spice things up a bit, the Tesla gets a 3-car lead-start for the second run. But the driver's reaction time isn't all that good, and the Silverado is once again going hard at it, providing a glorious exhaust note in the meantime. At this point, the outcome is obvious, as the Model S Plaid just isn't fast enough to keep up.

But we do get to see a bonus third run anyway. Tesla gets an even bigger advantage for the launch procedure, and this time things are considerably more exciting to watch. It's almost a photo finish, but given the initial starting handicap, the Chevrolet Silverado finishes in 2nd place for once. But the gap wasn't all that impressive, and at the end of the day, a twin-turbo LSX engine still sounds like the best option for going down the quarter-mile.