Model S P100D beats 11 supercars in Motor Trend "World's Greatest Drag Race"

[PhaseWhite]

those TRC 10.79 times are from late 2016 before the ludi+ egg.

My point that Tesla may have given a ringer to a car Magazine is not convincingly disproved by numbers recorded by a car magazine

 

[12Pack]

Good to see the balanced poll results so far. In spite of the many gung ho ‘Tesla kills ICE’ type comments it’s seems clear that most forum members understand performance is not just standing-start drag racing.

 

[bhzmark]

My point that Tesla may have given a ringer to a car Magazine is not convincingly disproved by numbers recorded by a car magazine

And your point/allegation isn't supported by a discrepancy .2-.3 which can be explained by Ludi plus egg update, proper sticky track and other ideal conditions of MT testing that they keep consistent so as compare to other cars that they test. \

 

[EXOTIC1]

Model S P100D 5YJSA1E40GF156364 | Tesla

should be able to pick up private party cars for 100k
woot woot
next on my list

 

[FlatSix911]

For those who would like to see the performance numbers for all of the Tesla Model S battery options:

Tesla 0-60 Times & Tesla Quarter Mile Times | Tesla Roadster, Model S P85, Model X & more Electric Car 0 to 60 stats!

 

[Racerx22b]

should have used the McLaren 720S instead of the 570S, 720S would have beat em all... also no Lamborghini Huracan this year?

This

 

[FlatSix911]

IMHO, the Demon and Hellcat Challenger/Charger were specifically built to dethrone the Tesla as the acceleration king. The Demon succeeded but also failed at the same time. As others said, it is a one trick pony. Sad!

Agreed. If M/T wants to test purpose built track vehicles, we should include the Tesla powered 818 ... quarter-mile in 9.86 seconds

Tesla-Powered 818 Rips Down 1/4-Mile In 9 Seconds - Video

 

[VegasBlue]

Why is Dodge Challenger SRT Demon missing here? I heard, Dodge had to slow it down to be allowed on race tracks.
With 840 horses, Dodge Demon is 'world's fastest' car
2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 1/4 Mile - Hellcat Demon Quarter Mile Time

So, a few details worth mentioning...

The motor Trend drag race is an advertising event that is part of the performance car of the YEAR article that takes a week for them to decide. Loosely, only cars that are NEW or SIGNIFICANTLY upgraded during that year are eligible. So that's why the grand sport is there, but not the faster Z06. The slower mclaren is there, but not the P1. No Hurican, and no Demon, which I think was technically released last year even though it didn't make big news until earlier this year.

Sometimes, car makers simply decline to provide a car, as Ferrari has done several times.

So, there is some fudging in what cars actually participate in the race and motor trend often makes all sorts of excuses why.

Now, about the demon...

there are several articles out there that need to be read carefully, including
Dodge Demon NHRA Ban - How You Can Race the Demon

The Demon's 2.3 second run was performed under these conditions:

1 seat vehicle, with no passenger or back seats
skinny front tires, and specialized drag strip slicks
About 50 attempts to get the 2.3 record
Driven by professional NHRA driver with over 500 runs of Hellcat and challenger experience
Perfect use of trans brake and line brakes
The runs were attempted in the cool air of night
The runs were done at sea level
The runs were done in the cold with very dense air for the supercharger.
The runs were performed on a specialized drag strip with sticky adherent on the track.

So if you find yourself in your P100D next to a demon in exactly these conditions, its going to be a real close race...

but if you find yourself at a light next to a demon at a mile high altitude in Colorado, on a sunny day, where the road isn't sprayed with sticky and the demon has normal tires and driver isn't an NHRA expert, he isn't going to be much of a threat.

 

[dhanson865]

Motor Trend has been doing "world's great drag race" for years and I always wonder why Tesla didn't try to contact Motor Trend to put Model S in the race. Well, they finally did it!!!! Got to be one of the greatest free commercial for Tesla. Enjoy the video.

And remember to vote!

umm, what video? I don't see one in your post.

 

[brianman]

umm, what video? I don't see one in your post.

what the heck??? My post originally had the video attached for like 7 hours, and all of a sudden, the video was removed. Some Tesla-hater hacked into my account??

 

[dhanson865]

After trying 3 different browsers I finally did a view source and saw a last edit by moderator. I'm assuming the moderator removed it accidentally or on purpose. But it looks like Curt Renz added it in a later post.

Last edited by a moderator: <abbr class="DateTime" data-time="1506085153" data-diff="225053" data-datestring="Sep 22, 2017" data-timestring="8:59 AM">Sep 22, 2017 at 8:59 AM</abbr>

I'm assuming this was it?

 

[stopcrazypp]

After trying 3 different browsers I finally did a view source and saw a last edit by moderator. I'm assuming the moderator removed it accidentally or on purpose. But it looks like Curt Renz added it in a later post.



I'm assuming this was it?

Note that this thread is now linked to the blog by the TMC staff. I suspect something screwed up when they did that (since the video show on the blog page, just not here on the thread). Maybe they removed it from the thread so that there won't be a duplicate video link.

https://teslamotorsclub.com/blog/20...st-in-motor-trends-worlds-greatest-drag-race/

 

[ggnykk]

I think the P100D will be neck n neck with the Demon when racing on a non prepped surface with street legal tires. Just my opinion. The Demon needs too many special situations to go sub 10sec. P100D can do 10.5 practically anywhere.

Not to mention that Demon needs to use Octane 100 race fuel to get that sub 10 second quarter mile. Where the hell are u going to get Octane 100 fuel unless u own a race team??

 

[ggnykk]

This may not be a popular post but I think there's a chance that either Tesla gave them a ringer (Higher power than what they sell stock) or their timing was a little off... 10.5 is almost as fast as the guy from Tesla Racing channel who has his Base Model S P100D completely stripped down and running drag radials.

Timeslips reference:
Fast Tesla Model-Ss 1/4 Mile 0-60 Drag Racing - DragTimes.com

See some of his runs before strip down here:

World record pass:

the reason is that all Motor Trend test numbers are all weather adjusted (temperature, humidity, elevation, air density etc). They do it for all cars. That's why the 10.5 second is a bit faster than what's possible in reality, this is true for all gasoline car test numbers.

 

[wycolo]

Octane 100 available at your local airfield.
--

 

[dgpcolorado]

Octane 100 available at your local airfield.
--

Isn't Av-gas also leaded? Thought it wasn't legal for cars, but I might be out of date on that.

 

[SSedan]

Not to mention that Demon needs to use Octane 100 race fuel to get that sub 10 second quarter mile. Where the hell are u going to get Octane 100 fuel unless u own a race team??

I never bought any but friends have and it isn't hard to find sometimes local gas stations even have it near racetracks, mailorder is an option too.
AV-gas I thought was leaded too but is common for racers to use, illegal on road and is hard on O2 sensors and catalytic converters, but done often.

 

[rw99]

Not really sure why many seem to want to trash the blown Challengers or pigeon-hole them. I don't think anyone expects them to run times on an airstrip that compare to what you can run at the drags. It's old-school rear wheel drive and therefore a challenge to manage traction.

Listen: I love my MX's acceleration. But anybody, anybody, can launch this thing on the street. It's not an achievement.

Now, get the dig with high-power RWD ICE and you've got my respect. You've done something difficult.

You don't have to dismiss one performance vehicle to enjoy another, is my point. And I'm so happy that Model S has captured performance-based interest and publicity. It's fantastic that we can buy something (more) environmentally conscious, tech-cool, and still scratch the horsepower itch.

But I'm also ecstatic that Dodge will build you a true 700+ HP muscle car, or option one to be a dragstrip monster. These are incredible days for performance car fans, and we should count ourselves lucky to have all of these choices.


Rich

 

[Racerx22b]

Listen: I love my MX's acceleration. But anybody, anybody, can launch this thing on the street. It's not an achievement.

It is an amazing achievement. How do you not see this? If someone could develop something that would give top fuel funny cars brainless "anyone can do it" technology to get them better/consistent times it would take them all of about 2secs to bolt that tech on. It might not be entertaining for people to watch but the teams that want to win won't care. It would shift the focus back to the other engineers to get the most of the engine/drivetrain/tires instead of handicapping their abilities for the lack of driving skill.

Believe me... Same would apply to any OEM.. If they could figure out the magic to consistently run their car at a given competitive time that magic would be there. Any jackass could throw a truck load of cash at a car and drop in a 800hp motor that only a professional drag racer with a 100 runs in the car can make work. It's much harder to make a 800hp monster that can run consistent times with nearly any driver. The latter is way more of an achievement that than former.

I think that is fact but I'll end with the caveat that this is my opinion.

 

[rw99]

It is an amazing achievement. How do you not see this? If someone could develop something that would give top fuel funny cars brainless "anyone can do it" technology to get them better/consistent times it would take them all of about 2secs to bolt that tech on. It might not be entertaining for people to watch but the teams that want to win won't care. It would shift the focus back to the other engineers to get the most of the engine/drivetrain/tires instead of handicapping their abilities for the lack of driving skill.

Believe me... Same would apply to any OEM.. If they could figure out the magic to consistently run their car at a given competitive time that magic would be there. Any jackass could throw a truck load of cash at a car and drop in a 800hp motor that only a professional drag racer with a 100 runs in the car can make work. It's much harder to make a 800hp monster that can run consistent times with nearly any driver. The latter is way more of an achievement that than former.

I think that is fact but I'll end with the caveat that this is my opinion.

Actually, I think we're on the same page here. Tesla's AWD launching is absolutely an engineering achievement.

I'm just saying that it is not the driver's achievement. All you do was hold on and stomp the throttle... which, to me, is much less interesting. If you line up at the traffic light and dust some dude in his Camaro/Challenger/Mustang/whatever, score one for the engineers. But you were basically a spectator.

I care about the driver's experience; I buy cars that reward skillful operation. Hopefully the engineers won't solve every challenging aspect of sports car performance too soon, because I'll always get more satisfaction from performing a difficult task well. Or at least trying to do so...


Rich