Dodge is without a doubt among the few carmakers left whose internal combustion engine models can stand up to the mighty Tesla Model S Plaid over a quarter mile. We’re not saying they can topple the Plaid but giving the latter a good run for its money is in its own way a major achievement.
From Tesla’s perspective, this little rivalry should be a non-issue. On paper, the Plaid is simply too powerful, and that instant torque makes it much more likely to get a perfect start every time it launches, unlike those tail happy Hellcats and Hellcat-derived models.
Its tri-motor setup allows the Model S Plaid to put down 1,020 hp and 1,050 lb-ft (1,420 Nm) of torque in a split second. With a one-foot rollout, you can hit 60 mph (97 kph) in a blistering 1.99 seconds, while the quarter mile can be conquered in around 9.24 seconds.
Could you beat that with a Challenger Demon? Undoubtedly. But it would require modifications – see the Hennessey HPE1000 Demon, with its 9.14-second quarter-mile time.
The Demon is still very fast even when stock, with its supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V8 unit producing 808 hp (819 ps) on regular pump fuel, and 840 hp (852 ps) on 100 octane fuel or nigher. As for torque, it’ll give you 770 lb-ft (1,044 Nm), which is amazing, but still less than the Plaid.
Over the course of this video, you’ll see the Tesla race not only a Challenger SRT Demon, but also a pair of Charger Hellcat models, one of which was a Redeye, according to the uploader. What makes the Redeye tick is an uprated version of the Hellcat’s HEMI V8 unit, good for 797 hp (808 ps) and 707 lb-ft (959 Nm) of torque.
In the end though, everything wearing an SRT badge was butchered by the Plaid, with the Demon underachieving big time, despite getting off to an excellent start.
Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration. Full profile
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