Porsche Taycan Turbo S Gets Spanked at the Drag Strip by Tesla Model S Plaid!
German luxury might cost nearly twice the price as the Tesla at $250,000 with options, but it won’t be twice as fast.
If there is one thing that electric vehicles can boast about all day, it’s the outright straight-line acceleration. The instantaneous torque response available off the line is what gave electric engines their initial appeal. It’s impressive how quickly the technology is developing and, as a result, how much faster EVs are getting.
Case in point, two of the fastest EVs available: the Porsche Taycan Turbo S and the Tesla Model S Plaid. And what better way to really test that acceleration than in a head to head drag race, showcasing the strengths of the electric power plant?
Before we get to the actual race, there are a couple of factors to first consider when internalizing the results. The Porsche’s MSRP is about $218k before options, compared to the Tesla’s $124k MSRP. Realistically, these vehicles are in wildly different tax brackets, but their performance gap begs to differ.
There is a 270 HP disparity between the dominant Tesla and the Porsche. Not to mention, a 467 pound weight disadvantage for the Porsche as well. So with the Tesla having less weight, more power, and a substantially cheaper price, which one of these vehicles truly realize their dollar value the best? We think the answer is obvious.
Anybody still questioning this fact will need to refer to the good folks over at DragTimes on YouTube, who would leave no doubt in our minds as they decided it was time to put these high performance rivals head to head. From the get, we knew this would be a Tesla show.
However, let us be clear that the Porsche is far from a slouch. In a prior race, DragTimes put a Taycan up against the previous generation Tesla’s “Ludicrous Mode” Model S Performance. The Porsche edged out a win by about a car length. The second time around Tesla would return with a vengeance.
Tesla is begging for some real competition
Porsche will have its hands full going up against a much improved Tesla, featuring over 1,020 HP, significantly outshining the Porsche’s 751 HP. Both of these cars are blazingly fast in their own right.
Thus, three back to back races were held to determine the outright 1/4-mile champion at Palm Beach International Raceway. It’s no surprise that the Plaid dominated every run.
The first race resulted in the Tesla pulling off a lightning fast 9.673@150.93 MPH, almost a full second quicker than the Taycan’s 10.422@129.90 MPH. From the get-go, the Porsche was simply outclassed.
This run was even performed without the Tesla in “Drag Strip Mode” with the “Cheetah Stance” option to help increase acceleration times substantially. However, for the second run the Tesla would not hold back.
The quietest 9-second passes at the drag strip ever?
The Turbo S owner (who was sitting on the sidelines during the run) seemed so shocked by the Tesla’s first pass that he began the process of purchasing a Plaid Model S then and there at the drag strip after seeing the result. Wow.
If that first run was motivation enough to switch teams, then the next run would solidify that decision in stone. The Tesla with all the modes activated resulted in a 9.360@150.82 MPH, shaving off another 0.3 seconds off the original time.
For the final run, the Tesla takes a third consecutive win, improving its time and trap speed at 9.344@151.34. The Taycan would also run its fastest of the day to finish, at 10.379@129.99 MPH.
Undoubtedly, these cars are dangerously fast in a straight line. However, the Porsche truly “is not even in the same ballpark of acceleration” when compared to the Tesla. It’s safe to say who the overall winner is.
Amazingly, the future for these high performances machines is to eventually get even faster. We are curious to see if the updates or mods on the Plaid can result in breaking the magical 9-second barrier at the 1/4 mile.
We wouldn’t be surprised to see that level of performance increase happen by the end of the year. If this outrageous display of speed means anything for the future of EV performance, we are looking in good shape.