Explosion juice versus electrons.
If you told me in the early aughts that an unassuming four-door laptop would have the giddy-up required to challenge an alcohol-burning hypercar, I would have said to go back to your weird alternative reality. Nevertheless, here we are in 2021 with a drag race video between a tuned 2018 McLaren 720S and 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid.
Once again coming to us from the Hoonigans and the This vs. That airstrip, the two competitors in this video have wildly contrasting approaches to speed. Let's start with the fire-breathing McLaren, which bears a twin-turbo, all-aluminum, 4.0-liter V8 producing 710 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque from the factory, feeding the rear wheels through a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
According to the owner, this particular example is equipped with a few extra tricks, including a new exhaust and down pipe, as well as a tune to run on C88, an ethanol biofuel derived from sugarcane. Now, crank horsepower is measured at an even four-digits. The McLaren is also equipped with a set of carbon fiber wheels, which look incredible matched with the carbon fiber Ryft aero package and 765 LT rear bumper. Curb weight is around 3,100 pounds.
Put it all together, and you get one heaping slab of internal-combustion perfection, a tribute to the art of harnessing explosions for speed. That said, the car in the other lane has harnessed the electron.
Challenging the McLaren, we find a 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid, arriving showroom-fresh and 100 percent as it was the day it left Fremont, California. However, don't judge the lack of modifications as a disadvantage. This $140,000 mobile device derives motivation from three electric motors - two in the rear, and one up front - to produce 1,020 horsepower. The electric motors feed the wheels directly, with a bank of computers to figure out the issue of turning electricity into velocity, and a floor made from lithium-ion cells to keep the party going.
Which machine will walk away victorious? The winner may surprise you.
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