Straight-Line Racing Still Tells a Story
Drag races don’t tell the whole story about a car’s performance, but they do reveal a lot about straight-line speed, traction, and how well a car actually puts its power down. In that sense, the Tesla Model S Plaid comes out swinging. Thanks to its tri-motor setup and instant torque, there’s no waiting for revs, gear changes, or boost – it just launches. On paper, it’s a weapon off the line.
But drag racing isn’t just about who gets the best launch. To really see how the Plaid measures up against the tod-dog version of America’s sports car, Hennessey Performance put it head-to-head with the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 in two types of races: standing starts and rolling starts. Strip away the corners, focus on pure acceleration, and you get a clear look at which approach works best depending on how the race kicks off.
The Tale of the Tape
On paper, this matchup is tighter than you’d think. The Model S Plaid throws down about 1,020 horsepower, hits 0-60 mph in just under two seconds, and can blast through the quarter-mile in the low nines at 155 mph. But it’s also hauling more than 4,800 pounds, and needless to say, that extra weight matters in this scenario.
Meanwhile, the Corvette ZR1 champions the combustion-powered performance. Its twin-turbo 5.5-liter flat-plane V8 cranks out 1,064 hp and 828 lb-ft of torque, sent to the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. With carbon-ceramic brakes and real aero, it’s built to stay planted even as the speed climbs into serious territory.
The ZR1 has already shown what it can do on proper race tracks, including the dreaded Nürburgring in Germany. But here, the test is stripped down to basics. No corners, no braking – just a straight shot to see how fast each car can cover a quarter-mile in different scenarios.
Chevrolet
The Results Depend on the Start
In the standing-start quarter-mile runs, the Model S Plaid took both wins. Instant torque and all-wheel-drive traction let it leap out front and stay there all the way to the line. From a dig, the Tesla does exactly what you’d expect, just like it did at a proper drag strip before.
On rolling starts, however, the results were different. While the Model S Plaid got the early jump, the Corvette ZR1 pulled considerably ahead in both runs at around 100-120 mph. Evidently, the ZR1’s power and gearing took over at high speeds, proving the gas-powered supercar isn’t outmatched once traction stops being the main hurdle.
Tesla
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