Nissan GT-R Drags Tesla Model X Plaid, You Don't Need Google to Tell You Who Wins

When the first Fast & Furious movie emerged over 20 years ago, most could only dream about owning a 10-second car. Today, you can walk into a car dealership and buy one then and there. And if you've got enough money, some vehicles will get you inside the 9-Seconds and 8-Seconds clubs, too. EVs are slowly taking over, although I still doubt whether this is the way forward for the future.

Right now, I'd be willing to bet big on either Toyota's or Mazda's plug-in hybrids instead. But I'll dive into that topic some other time. We've got another ICE vs Electric battle to look forward to. Nissan's GT-R flagship has been around for just over 16 years now. "Godzilla" has come a long way since its early days, but fans are still desperately waiting for the next generation.

It may be an all-electric vehicle, so we should enjoy the twin-turbocharged V6 noises while we still can. The first version of the R35 could run the quarter-mile (402 meters) in about 11.3 seconds, but it had to make do with "just" 473 hp and 430 lb-ft (583 Nm) of torque. The NISMO version in the following video has turned the heat up to 11 with 592 hp and 480 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque.

But no GT-R would be complete without a few mods, so things are more spicy with this R35. Still, I don't think 810 hp and 656 lb-ft (890 Nm) of torque can do much against the triple motor setup of the Tesla Model X Plaid. Despite the extra 1,800 lbs (800 kgs), 1,020 hp and 1,047 lb-ft (1,420 Nm) of torque are not to be taken lightly. The GT-R would have wiped the floor with Elon's creation if this test had happened around the racetrack.

But in a straight line, it stands almost no chance of winning anything in the short run. And if we keep it this way, I'd love to see a different kind of test: one where both cars keep at it for several hours in a row, revealing the one that stops cooperating first. Run after run, fans of the Japanese sports car will be better off looking away.

Things would have been different with an extra 20% performance boost. But for now, the R35 needs 10.6 seconds to run the quarter-mile, while the Tesla Model X Plaid is 0.3 seconds faster. But before you go all in on the EV, wait for the brake test at the end of the challenge.