The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 is undoubtedly the most capable factory street-legal drag car ever made. Built with quarter-mile times in mind, it comes with a supercharged V8 engine capable of 1025 hp, along with drag radial tires, specific drag-ready suspension, and even a transmission brake. But it's still no match for the Tesla Model S Plaid.
Brooks Weisblat from the DragTimes YouTube channel brought the two straight-line missiles together during a recent visit to Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida to see which would be quicker in a quarter-mile showdown.
In the first of three races, the Plaid is able to get a great start, launching away and leaving the Demon in the dust. The second race is a lot closer, with the Demon nailing an impressive launch. While the two cars are side-by-side for a few seconds, it's the Tesla that slowly walks away and takes the win. The third race is a bit of a bust, as the Demon driver fudges the start, allowing the Plaid to take an easy victory.
As Weisblat points out, these cars are more closely matched than the results would suggest. In fact, it's possible the Demon could beat the Model S Plaid if it were to get a perfect launch. But in the real world, the Tesla is far easier to drive, meaning it's always going to lay down consistently quick quarter-mile times. The Dodge, on the other hand, needs a skilled driver and a perfect environment to extract the most performance.
If we had to choose one, we'd take the Dodge every time, despite the results.
Watch The Model S Plaid In More Drag Races
FAQs
In the first of three races, the Plaid is able to get a great start, launching away and leaving the Demon in the dust. The second race is a lot closer, with the Demon nailing an impressive launch. While the two cars are side-by-side for a few seconds, it's the Tesla that slowly walks away and takes the win.
Is anything faster than Tesla Model S plaid? ›
The Quickest Cars inMotorTrendHistory. Back in 2021, we launched a Model S Plaid to 60 mph in 1.98 seconds, and Lucid says its Sapphire can beat that with a 1.89-second holeshot.
Is the Dodge Demon 170 faster than the Tesla Plaid? ›
On the other hand, when the DragTimes Plaid beat the Racer X SRT Demon 170 in their best race, the Tesla ran a 9.38 at 146.81 miles per hour with a 1.492 60-foot time and an 8th mile of 6.059 at 118.76 miles per hour.
Is the Tesla Model S Plaid the fastest production car in the world? ›
No. According to the latest Car & Driver, the Tesla model S Plaid and the Lucid Air Sapphire on 0 - 150 - 0 test beat all production cars.
Is the Tesla Model S plaid faster than a Bugatti? ›
But gasoline and horsepower tend to pay off at high speeds, which is why the Bugatti ends up winning both races. Especially in the half-mile roll, you see the Bugatti struggle at first and then charge past the Tesla on its way to a 206-mph run. The Tesla runs out of steam in the low 180s.
Is a Tesla Model S plaid faster than a Lamborghini? ›
Currently the fastest Tesla is the Model S Plaid. It will leave pretty well every production car including Lambos and Ferraris in its dust from standstill. You're looking at a car here that can do 0 to 60 mph is around 2 seconds and the quarter mile in about 8.7 seconds.
What car can beat a Dodge Demon 170? ›
In the first of three races, the Plaid is able to get a great start, launching away and leaving the Demon in the dust. The second race is a lot closer, with the Demon nailing an impressive launch. While the two cars are side-by-side for a few seconds, it's the Tesla that slowly walks away and takes the win.
Is Lucid Air faster than Model S plaid? ›
The 2024 Lucid Air Sapphire is the quickest electric vehicle we've ever tested, beating out the Tesla Model S Plaid that last held the title. The Sapphire's 2.1-second sprint to 60 mph tied the Plaid's time, but the Lucid was a tenth quicker to 100 mph and through the quarter-mile.
Which model S is the fastest? ›
Model S Plaid has the quickest acceleration of any vehicle in production. Updated battery architecture for all Model S trims enables back-to-back track runs without performance degradation.
Is Tesla Plaid faster than F1? ›
The maximum speed for the production Tesla Model S Plaid is a not-so-sluggish 282 km/h (175.3 mph), but the F1 handily wins this one. The fastest speed in a F1 race was the 372.5 km/h (231.5 mph) achieved by Valtteri Bottas for Williams in the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix.
The Taycan Turbo S will take you from zero to 60mph in 2.6 seconds, though Motor Trend and others have clocked it at 2.4 seconds. The Tesla comes in at 2.3 seconds – so just a tiny difference.
What car has the fastest 0 to 60? ›
As of today, the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 crushes all with a 0-60 mph time of just 1.66 seconds. That's simply absurd, but keep in mind the Demon was engineered with the single-minded purpose of going fast in a straight line.
What beats the plaid? ›
By Vipul Punetha | A prototype of the updated Porsche Taycan, ahead of its official release, has set an impressive Nurburgring lap time of 7:07.55, surpassing the Taycan Turbo S by 26 seconds in 2022 and outpacing the Tesla Model S Plaid by 18 seconds.
Which is faster, Tesla Plaid or Lucid? ›
The 2024 Lucid Air Sapphire is the quickest electric vehicle we've ever tested, beating out the Tesla Model S Plaid that last held the title. The Sapphire's 2.1-second sprint to 60 mph tied the Plaid's time, but the Lucid was a tenth quicker to 100 mph and through the quarter-mile.
