Image via DragTimes/YouTube
Everyone seems to remember the first time a Dodge Challenger and Tesla Model S raced and the electric car won. Suddenly, computer nerds became drag racing experts and declared the end of internal combustion engines, muscle cars, and everything else they despised.
Watch an EV Dodge Charger race a Tesla Model Y.
A lot has happened since, including the release of the Dodge Demon 170 and the Tesla Model S Plaid, so seeing these two roughly 1,000-horsepower speed machines go up against each other in the quarter mile is an interesting measure of where things are today.
After all, EVs and in particular Teslas are much more popular and accepted than they were several years ago. We see them on racetracks more frequently, too. And while the Demon 170 is more than a respectable machine, the Dodge brand has entirely ditched the Hemi V8 in favor of a straight-six and electrification.
Wrapped up in all this are plenty of emotions people have about traditional muscle cars, Elon Musk, new technology, etc. In other words, even after they watch the DragTimes video where these two race three times on the dragstrip, we expect there to be many disagreements.
Part of what will be controversial is the fact the Demon 170 takes actual skill to race. Unlike with the Tesla, you don’t just line up at the tree and just launch virtually perfectly every time. When the Dodge hooks up properly, it launches hard and can, under the right conditions, run in the 8s.
But flub the launch and the Demon 170 will run like a 9.7. That’s still an incredible time for a bone stock muscle car, but the Plaid will consistently run around 9.25. We don’t want to ruin what happens in the video, but this is a factor.
One area where the Dodge wins hands down is overall fun. The Mopar muscle car pops a wheelie every time off the line, which is just cool. Being an all-wheel-drive vehicle, the Tesla is very well-mannered when it launches, which honestly is boring.
Now watch the video and see what you think of the race results.
Image via DragTimes/YouTube
