Who wins on the quarter mile between Tesla, Porsche, Audi and Mercedes?
Who wins on the quarter mile between Tesla
Times change and with them the classic quarter-mile head-to-head made famous by Fast & Furious. If once they were all smoke, skidding and deafening noises, today they are so silent as to seem like documentaries ... This is demonstrated by the latest comparison of the British site CarWow, which brought four "top of the range" models from the EV world to the track. These are the inevitable Tesla Model S 100D, the Porsche Taycan 4S, the Audi E-Tron GT and the brand new Mercedes EQS.The latter can only make a presence since it is the basic model equipped with a single electric motor that barely touches 330 horsepower. A lot for a normal car, but too few to compete in a fast-paced race against clearly sportier cars. In any case, the video is a good opportunity to observe the definitive model of the new Mercedes flagship, after months of advances and technological pills. Hoping to see her again, perhaps, in other "challenges" in the most pumped up version, which could also have her say against these opponents.
As for the outcome of the head-to-head, the Porsche Taycan proves to be queen shooting from a standstill dominating the test in its classic version. The results change slightly with the launched starts, where Tesla and Audi bring more power into the field, without giving too much thought to the Taycan. Porsche, at least in terms of acceleration, seems to have worked very well with its battery-powered super sports car. The Mercedes EQS, as we said, remains inexorably last for the reasons listed above (plus the absence of all-wheel drive).
All four cars are united by the price around, and often above, the 100,000 Euro, which places them in the highest range of the EV catalog. But they interpret the concept of “luxury” in a very different way: for example, if the Mercedes EQS focuses on comfort, the Taycan is a sporty model for those who love track sensations. To each his own, as long as you have the necessary budget and maybe a circuit nearby, to organize similar challenges.
(note: if you are in a hurry and just want to watch the race, skip the first two minutes of the movie)
Taycan owner buys Tesla Plaid after his EV gets smoked in quarter-mile drag race
A Porsche Taycan owner jumped straight on his phone to order a Tesla Model S Plaid after his Porsche Taycan electric sportscar got completely smoked in a drag race.
Both cars ran the quarter-mile at the Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida, with a video of the race posted on Youtube by Drag Times on Friday morning (see full video below).
The winner, of course, was the Plaid, beating the Taycan by three-quarters of a second.
While it’s no secret that the Plaid is billed as the “fastest production car ever“, it wasn’t even in drag strip mode, says the Plaid driver.
Straight after the race, the owner of the Taycan, David Lockhart, was seen ordering something on his phone.
“Dave, what are you doing?” he was asked.
“I’m buying a Tesla,” the owner answered.
“Are you literally ordering a Tesla right at this moment?” came the response.
“You’d be able to troll everybody…on the road, man,” Lockhart replied.
Says it all really. The 2.4 tonne Porsche Taycan Turbo S has 750hp, a two-speed transmission and started the race 100% state of charge, and it was up against the 2.2 tonne Tesla Model S Plaid which has 1020hp, no transmission, three motors and started the race with a 90% state of charge.
From the get go the Plaid is way out in front, and while the Porsche gradually picks up pace to barely catch up, it just doesn’t quite make it.
“Holy crap, he’s gone,” says the driver of the Taycan.
The competition between the two has always generated a great deal of excitement, starting with the first time the Plaid (still incognito) visited the gruelling Nürburgring track in 2019, smashing the Taycan’s time by 10 seconds in an unofficial lap record.
Both are available in Australia and although the Plaid will not land in Australia until late 2022, it is the cheaper of the two. The Tesla Model S Plaid starts at $A186,990 before fees, taxes and on-road costs, while the Porsche Taycan Turbo S starts at $A339,100.
This is not the fastest official quarter-mile on record for the Model S Plaid , either. In June, TV personality Jay Leno broke the quarter-mile record for a production car, running a sweet 9.247 seconds CleanTechnica reported.
Even so, it’s exhilarating to watch:
Bridie Schmidt is lead reporter for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model 3 and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.
