Since their arrival on the market, the Tesla Model S Plaid EV sedans have become many things – from kings of the quarter-mile dragstrip to DeLorean DMC-12 from Back to the Future impersonators.
Of course, they have also done just about everything in between – cross-country races, top-speed record attempts, range adventures, and more. However, one thing was undeniable: there were no ICE-powered or EVs that could equal its times at the local quarter-mile racetrack. But that was some time ago.
Nowadays, epic drag races not only include the 1,020-hp Tesla Model S Plaid but also mighty opponents like the 1,025-hp (on E85) 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 or the 1,234 Lucid Air Sapphire EV. Soon enough, even Porsche (which is now busy pacing Formula E races) will have a say in this showdown with help from the refreshed Taycan Turbo GT, the most powerful series-production Porsche ever.
As such, in this day and age, when you see a Tesla Model S Plaid lining up for a major challenge at an important event, you are always prepared for the unexpected. But there is no need to take our word for granted as we have an eloquent example. A new YouTube channel aptly named The Drag Race seeks to make a name for itself on the scene with both racer interviews and quarter-mile dragstrip action.
In the video embedded below, host John Torres (he's also the videographer behind ImportRace, another channel we're keeping tabs on) was at Bradenton Motorsport Park in Bradenton, Florida, for the Street Car Takeover event and he witnessed a few battles for ICE versus EV drag race supremacy featuring a gray Tesla Model S Plaid. Of course, its technical specifications are well known, so the only surprises come from the opponents, right?
The first skirmish at BMP was against an equally gray S550 Ford Mustang GT, and the Blue Oval didn't show anything obvious apart from a set of racing tires and wheels. As such, at first glance, you would see it as a sure victim for a Plaid. However, surprise, surprise, this was actually a nine-second rascal, and the Model S lost the battle despite its 9.48 versus 9.57s elapsed times – the electronic scoreboard's light clearly showed the Mustang's left lane as the victor.
Sure, maybe some folks will say it wasn't a clean all-out victory. They would also use the next encounter – with a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat – as evidence, given the 9.51s (Plaid) versus 10.17s pass. Team Mopar can't argue with that loss, for sure. Then, the folks over at the GM fan group would also need to look away because a Corvette red-lighted during the next skirmish.
However, there comes a time – right around the 1:10 mark, when a purple Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat comes into play, and all bets are off. With a little wheelie just to show that it doesn't care much about advice to keep all four on the ground, this Mopar then went on and avenged all the years of EVs thrashing muscle cars at the quarter-mile dragstrip. As such, the Plaid did its thing at 9.67s, but the Hellcat rocked the boat with a fantastic 9.1s performance.
After that, as far as we can tell, there was some 10s bracket racing – if you're into that sort of thing, there were some pretty tense moments, too.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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