Hoonigan featured a drag race between a neatly done midnight purple Nissan Skyline GT-R and a 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid on their YouTube series This vs. Plaid. And while it's obvious that the 650 HP GT-R was toast the moment it accepted the race, we were curious to see if it could keep up with the best of the EVs.
Forget the attitude-filled Silvia, 350 Z, or even the 300ZX Turbo. Nissan brings all the boys to the yard because of the mighty Godzilla. Every single GT-R that came out of Japan is a beast, and a sacred place exists for each one of them in many car enthusiasts' hearts.
The Skyline R32, R33, R34, R35 will all go into the hall of fame as the 'supercar killers' of their generation. And for that, the 1990's GT-R R34 is worth a tidy sum, with the best retailing close to half a million dollars.
Brad Nielson's GT-R is a fifth-generation 1999 R34 Nissan Skyline . It's stock, but with effective use of titanium hardware and piping. It runs on a 6-speed Getrag manual transmission and weighs 3,432 lbs (1,557 kg).
On the other hand, the 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid makes 1,020 HP from three electric motors. It runs on an all-wheel-drive platform and weighs 4,828 lbs (2,190 kg).
It's pretty obvious how this race will turn out. The Model S Plaid has the advantage of instant torque and much higher horsepower output. With all the tech, including 'Cheetah' mode, and launch control favoring the Tesla, the R34 has no chance of winning, let alone offering a competitive edge. The tech between these two cars is deltas apart.
That said, the Model S Plaid humiliated the R34 on the first drag race on 'Cheetah' mode. The R34 only beat the Model S while in 'Chill Mode,' or as the Hoonigan crew tagged it—Tesla and Chill Mode. The final race with the Tesla on 'Sport Mode' ended as you'd expect. The Model S won.
The R34 was an insanely built car for its time. And as much as it's hard to admit this, Tesla sedans will go down in history as electric cars that were way ahead of their time.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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