Corvette ZR1 Takes On Tesla Model S Plaid In Drag Race: Video
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At this point, there should be little doubt that modern electric vehicles can be quick – very quick, actually, even when compared to beasts like the Chevy Corvette ZR1, as seen in the following drag racing video.
Coming to us from the Drag Racing and Car Stuff YouTube channel, the video is brief, clocking in at a little under two minutes in length. Shot from the bleachers at a local drag strip, the video opens with a white Tesla Model S Plaid beating up on a Fox-Body Ford Mustang, running a very healthy 9.36 at 149.36 mph to the Ford’s 13.11 at 116.84 mph.
Clearly, the Tesla has some muscle. Indeed, the Model S Plaid is the quickest vehicle that Tesla currently offers, with output from its tri-motor powertrain pushing out an estimated 1,020 horsepower and 905 pound-feet of torque. Top speed is rated at 200 mph. That’s a lot, but there’s more to the Tesla’s speed than just raw electric power. There’s also the clever all-wheel drive system, which applies said output to maximize traction everywhere, even with max peak torque available at 0 rpm. What’s more, there’s no shifting in the Tesla, which means the acceleration simply doesn’t stop.
Impressive stuff, no doubt. But the Chevy Corvette ZR1 is certainly no slouch, either. First offered for the C7 lineup with the 2019 model year, the Chevy Corvette ZR1 hit the scene as the fastest, most powerful production Corvette ever made, rocking the supercharged 6.2L V8 LT5 gasoline engine to produce a maximum of 755 horsepower at 6,300 rpm and 715 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm.
Granted, all of that is sent to the rear wheels, which could make for traction issues compared to the all-wheel drive Tesla. Then again, the Corvette ZR1 is significantly lighter than the Model S Plaid, undercutting its all-electric competition by well over 1,000 pounds.
Which of these monsters will walk away the winner? Hit play to find out:
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Rode in a Plaid a few months ago. Was mind bending fast!!!!
brushless AC motors , instant torque, no shifting, no doubt EV is very cool. I have a C8 that I love. But driving an EV is exciting and I look forward to the future.
Only so much you can do with front engine, rwd, 3700 lbs, handling-type suspension. Mid-engine Vette should do better.
Don’t think the “instant torque” of an EV is much advantage on a drag strip – you should be launching the ICE vehicle in the torque band.
Full instant torque and AWD creates the biggest possible advantage in a 1/4 mile race from a dead stop. Other than a full on drag car can any other ice rwd car , even think of launching at max torque RPM.
EV’s are “Glorified Golf Carts” they limit a person’s freedom & mobility. I just heard about another charging station cluster FAWQ this past 4th of July. Like the 2019? Day After Thanksgiving “Teslageddon” where mid-state charging stations were backed up for hours as EVs converged on mid-State charging stations on the return trip home. I’m fine with Hybrids and the Chevy Volt was a great one but, pure EV? NOT READY for prime time as they say.
EVs arent going to come online as fast as the green people think. If someone gave me one for free I would take it but I would never buy one… would still need another car if I wanted to go long distance and not have to worry about am I going to run out of power
I think it would be more interesting to compare it to the eCOPO Camaro. then I have to ask why GM did not make the COPO street legal, in some form at least.
It would have been nice if the ZR1 had a more experienced driver !
Or AWD. The thing is the ZR1 isn’t a race car. That’s the job of the Z06. The ZR1 in the C7 vette was literally just a marketing ploy to put 700+ponies into a vette! And boy is it sweet! But the vette isn’t a drag car. It’s a road racer. Even a standard C7 shalackes a Tesla Plaid around Laguna Seca.
The COPO Camaro is chevys ICE dragster.
No one should even have to watch the to know a stock ZR1 will never run in the 9s never mind low 9s. Come on GM authority, compare apples to apples. EV all wheel drive versus EV all wheel drive. Stock high horse rear wheel drive to stock high horse rear wheel drive etc. Boosted cars versus boosted cars, NA cars versus Na cars
Anything for click bate .
Someone mentioned apples to apples and mentioned the eCOPO.
With less HP, less weight and no AWD, fairs well but still warrants a heads up…
Per Road&Track, eCOPO best quarter-mile run was 9.837 seconds with a trap speed of 134.07 mph. While the above Plaid run against the ZR1 was 9.36 and traped at 151mph
A couple heads up would be fun to watch.
EV’s shouldn’t be racing with ICE vehicles, two different types of powertrain and not a fair competition.
No, they should but a drag racing sedan VS a ICE road racer is like putting a Camaro vs a duramax in the tractor pulls. Both are specially designed vehicles for different uses. The plaid is a fast drag racer, poor track car, the vette even in ZR1 looses to the dodge demon on a strip. It’s a track car. You can compare the two, but you got to understand the vehicles strengths
Also gotta compare prices. IMHO, the more expensive vehicle should always win. How would this have been if you dropped another 70K into the vette?
The ICE loser says the competition is not fair, that is pretty funny.
ICE cars have had many decades to fine-tune the craft of accelerating. EV have had, what , 10 years to get to the point of overtaking ICE vehicles.
I think this is the perfect time to have EVs kick the butt of ICE vehicle for a few years until everyone gets that message and ICE cars are dinosaurs.
I know that the ICE folks don’t believe that this was a fair race for one reason or another. However picture yourself back in time when proud horse owners were comparing their animals to their the first generation of automobiles. I could just hear the argument that racing a horse against an automobile wasn’t fair and they weren’t going to buy one. First because there was not enough fueling stations to travel from one city to the next and second that it took so long in pumping the gas and oiling up the motor.
However, having said this how about making this EV vs ICE a fair race? Everyone knows that the Tesla could smoke a Vette in a quarter mile. Let’s make it a half mile long race. That will be the day when a Tesla could go over +160 miles an hour without scaring the driver half to death. If you ridden in a Plaid you will know what I’m talking about. Also all that electric motor torque starts running out on you…….
The e-Ray is coming in a few years. Nothing will touch that!
Tesla has shown the superiority of electric propulsion….and has done it in a family sedan. (Yes, most drivers remover the child seats before racing!) But, GM has outstanding engineers and technologies, so when they finally give us an electric Corvette, it will be a killer car…..likely in the same league as the RimacNevera, the current champion of automobiles.
my dream garage: C8 corvette, just ICE fun.
tesla – commuting and around town, no gas.
prius – any distance i want, 50mpg.
go ahead and thumbs down. the three above provide a balance that i could really live with.
Driving an electric car is like having sex with a condom.
Not to worry, That loser in the Corvette is not getting any tonight, but the winner in the EV is.
Vs street outlaws should be next.
Well, Im not totally surprised
AWD is gna give you a better start off the line.
The Vettie didnt lag much once it was going
One car looks like a Honda Accord, the other looks like Corvette ZR1
One car looks like a loser, the other is a beautiful Tesla.
😀 I’ve been to a lot of drag races. Very few people really care who crosses the line first. It’s a show. Fire, burning rubber, deafening sound. EV’s are just vanilla. Maybe if it could shoot some sparks out the back or something.