Yesterday, we shared a video with you produced by BBC's Top Gear (we'll share it again below as well.). In it, the Tesla Model S Performance is put up against the new and wonderful Porsche Taycan Turbo S. While the video puts the two powerful electric super sedans through a number of paces, concerns have been raised about the first contest: a drag race.
***UPDATE: Musk confirms times and adds an additional comment:
Brooks Weisblat of DragTimes has put out his own video (above) that contends the side-by-side match up was faked. And, he says, he has the numbers to prove it. According to Weisblat, the numbers for the elapsed time and speed of the Tesla are exactly the same as those published by the site for a previous race in which it had set the American electric machine against a Mercedes AMG C63. We think he is on to something.
As many have pointed out, the numbers in the drag race portion of the video don't make much sense. They say that the Model S only managed to travel the quarter-mile in 11.08 seconds at a flat 124 miles per hour. Meanwhile, many owners have seen quarter-mile race results almost a half-second faster. Weisblat himself holds the official NEDRA (National Electric Drag Racing Association) record of 10.766 at 122.3 mph – a time, we remind that's overripe for improving.
Now, it could be that the runaway on which the race was held didn't provide the stickiest of surfaces and the slow time was a result of that. However, as Weisblat points out, the chances of getting the exact same result – down to the hundredth of a second are so remote as to be impossible.
We think this can all be settled one way: a rematch. How about it, Porsche? Have an extra Taycan Turbo S you'd like to place on a properly prepared surface alongside a Tesla Model S Performance? If so, please get in touch.