Tesla Model S Races 5.0-Liter Turbo Mustang on Slicks for 0.0048s Finish Margin

The V6-powered sports car from Japan could take on much fiercer opponents on short distances thanks to its then-unparalleled launching system and four-wheel-drive transmission. The 480 horsepower of the 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V6 were sent to all four wheels with incredible efficiency and caused minimal spin for an instant boost off the line that made it very difficult for the opponents to catch up before the finish line.

That crown has now been taken by Tesla, and it seems like it's buried somewhere deep in the desert where nobody can find it because there's no sign of the EV maker ever intending to let it go. Right now, it's the Model S that's the quickest one in the company's limited lineup, but Tesla plans even more ludicrous things in the not at all distant future.

We're talking, of course, about the upcoming Roadster and its SpaceX package. Elon Musk said the 1,000 hp sports car would get rocket thrusters to boost its already impressive stock acceleration of "under two seconds" for the 0-60 mph run, and a recent video made by people much smarter than us used math to demonstrate that that "boost" might bring the sprint time all the way down to 1.1 seconds.

For the time being, though, the Model S P100D Raven is the pinnacle of what the company has to offer in terms of acceleration, and there are plenty of videos out there to prove that's more than enough. So far, we've talked about Tesla's performance in a quarter-mile race, but what happens when the distance is even shorter?

Well, that leaves even fewer opportunities for its opponent to catch up, right? Absolutely. Launch performance is all the more important here as is never losing grip, two things the Tesla excels at. Even the slightest slip can make a huge difference on the time at the end, so there's no room for mistakes.

Surely, then, a Ford Mustang with a 5.0-liter V8 with two big turbos has no place challenging a Tesla in a 1/8-mile race, right? Yes, except said Mustang also wears slicks, which means finding grip may not be such a big problem after all. It's definitely a playfield leveler, as that 0.0048 final margin shows. You rarely come closer to a draw than this in a drag race.