Much ado has been made about the new Tesla Model S Plaid, and for good reason. The newest, quickest, and fastest version of the long-running Model S sedan offers up 1,020 horsepower and a 0-60 time of less than two seconds, making it the quickest production car on the planet, for now. That’s obviously quite a bit quicker than a stock Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, but the GT500 in this video is far from stock.
In stock form, the 2020 GT500’s 5.2L Predator V8 makes 760 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque. This particular example belongs to the well-known Ford Mustang tuner Palm Beach Dyno, however, and it has received a slew of upgrades including larger injectors, headers, a ported blower, smaller pulley, drag radials, and a tune, of course, which helps the car make 1,100 horsepower at the wheels.
Flowing through Ford’s ultra-quick-shifting seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, that’s quite a combo in terms of straight-line performance. But is it enough to take down the mighty Tesla Model S Plaid and its all-wheel-drive configuration, no transmission, and instant electric torque? At the recent MITM Elite showdown in St. Louis, Missouri, the answer was yes.
These two drag-strip behemoths first go head to head in a couple of roll races. The first race goes to the GT500, which runs a 7.91-second pass at 159.63 miles-per-hour, barely edging out the Tesla, which ran a 7.97 at 154.94. The duo switch lanes, which results in an even closer race that the Mustang also wins with a 7.66-second pass at 160.94 mph versus the Plaid’s 7.68 at 155.19.
The video then cuts to each car making a pass from a dig. The Model S Plaid runs a 9.24-second pass at 152.28 miles-per-hour, beating out the Shelby’s 9.14 at 151.56 – and that’s not even the quickest PBD’s modified GT500 has gone, making this feat all the more impressive.
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Comment
Might as well be a Nikola semi truck rolling down a hill. That rolling start? Mustang was accelerating into that while Tesla was coasting, like a rolling start is suppose to. Then 1/4 mile from dead stop. Kind fishy why you don’t run them side by side.