Tesla Drags Toyota Supra and Audi S4, It Doesn’t Take a Model S to Catch a Model 3

Since we are sitting at the edge of the precipice between the old-school ICE lifestyle and the novelty of the EV revolution, it is only normal for the automotive industry to allow heroes on each side to clash for glory and a place in the history books. At the top of the pyramid, hypercars like the Bugatti Chiron or Rimac Nevera are hard to come by, so perhaps folks will settle with more mainstream encounters.

We are all waiting for the first socialite to nail a Tesla Model S Plaid versus 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 skirmish at the local quarter-mile dragstrip, but before that happens, it does not mean we should just sit idle. Instead, the videographer behind the Wheels Plus channel on YouTube, who is a huge fan of the Mission Raceway Park, and never misses a chance to check out the local brawls, has something of the ICE versus EV variety to showcase.

Sure, not everyone can snag footage of the Plaid (for that, we have the Tesla Plaid Channel, and we embedded a sample below of its feisty encounters between the Model S and an 800-hp Corvette Z06 on E85, plus an SWB dragster!) at their earliest convenience, so maybe we should just settle with a pack of Tesla Model 3 passes.

They were all done at MRP, an auto facility also known as “Thunder by the River,” which is a little ironic considering that one of the contenders was always ‘silent.’ Anyway, the venue located in Mission, British Columbia, Canada, not only has a nine-turn road course and motocross track but more importantly, is also home to an NHRA-sanctioned quarter-mile dragstrip – and that is where all the ICE vs. EV action occurs.

First things first, a white or silver fifth-generation Toyota GR Supra lined up against the blue Tesla Model 3 to see if its BMW soul could make up for the zippy electrons running around the opponent’s battery pack. Well, the ETs showed the Japanese-Bavarian coupe as the victor (11.45s to 11.52s), but the track’s green light thought otherwise. Remember, sometimes the victory also takes into account other factors, such as the reaction time, for example.

Next up, from the 1:03 mark, there was a blue-on-blue attack by way of a decidedly rare Audi S4 ready to duke it out with the Tesla for Audi Sport glory. As far as we can tell, this German sedan was a daily, judging by the roof bars, and the B9 four-door rocked a 3.0-liter turbo V6, in case anyone asked. I know, it’s understandable to forget that, since Audis are so discreet nowadays – and not just in terms of design but also of sales.

Audi fans could get their hopes up, as the ICE machine posted a better ET (11.56s versus 11.58s), but again if we take into account the reaction times, then the Tesla would fare much better. Alas, this time around, we did not have the track light witness to ascertain the proper victor. Anyway, from the 2:01 mark, most people would say that it takes a Tesla to catch a Tesla, aka a Model S, to give a proper lesson to a lesser Model 3. But, on this occasion, everyone would be proven wrong, as the larger sedan was painfully slow off the mark, to the silent EV tune of an 11.58 versus 13.19s result!