Gutted Tesla Plaid Drags Turbo Silverado and '68 Firebird With Big Tires Instead of Wings

As far as automobile fans are concerned, many people think we should be divided into just three major categories. First, the enthusiasts of everything EV, who will never go back to the ICE lifestyle. Secondly, those who only want to hear the squeaks and rattles of a combustion engine, no matter what. And thirdly, the vast majority, who think that there is still enough space on Earth for both general types of powertrains.

And yes, I know the latter – although many – are usually not given a voting chance by the ardent few. But here is something that could play nicely for all sides, at least until they see the final results. So, I am more of a middle-ground guy, and I would love for my next car to be a PHEV model to have both the advantage of zero emissions and the option of quick refills and no range anxiety when the need arises.

But I sure also love a good brawl between exponents of the two major ICE versus EV sides. Luckily, when it comes to quarter-mile dragstrip wars of this kind, the videographer behind the Drag Racing and Car Stuff channel on YouTube always finds a neat way to come to the rescue. This time around, he does so with a nice couple of “all nine-second” races from the Bradenton Motorsports Park (uploaded on February 4, embedded below), which focus on a dark blue Tesla Model S Plaid.

Usually, since here we are dealing with the Tesla Plaid Channel’s gutted 1,020-horsepower electric sedan, there would be a noticeably clear victor of the EV variety. However, these particular skirmishes that we are about to see have an element of novelty – first, we are going to check out a feisty turbocharged Chevy Silverado pickup truck, and then we are on for the main course with a big-tire 1968 Pontiac Firebird that looks ready for dragstrip business at supercar level.

As such, going into the races, I really could not predict which one would come on top. The appetizer is represented by the Plaid versus turbo Silverado race and it’s a charming 9.29s (at 149 mph/240 kph) versus 9.7s (at 137 mph/220 kph) encounter. Then, from the 0:53 mark, we are off into the darkness for the cooler 9.23s (at 150 mph/241 kph) versus 9.63s (at 137 mph/220 kph) skirmish. I am not going to spoil the victories ahead of time, though, and instead, may I invite you to check out the second video embedded below for build details, lots of different POVs, and additional commentary?