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Interesting. There's evidence to the contrary. Like the fact that for a recent 1/4 mile world record attempt, they brought along a generator truck to recharge it between runs. Or the fact that C&D couldn't get more than 1 lap in at VIR. Teslas have protection systems that reduce power when the battery gets hot - which is very quickly under hard use
I still don't think they're ready for prime time. I wouldn't mind having one for a garage queen, but not as a real car. I can't wait until the concept is fully matured. An electric motor is the ultimate powertrain, but there's still a way to go on battery technology.
A road course and a drag strip are not equal environments. I imagine all of the hard (and presumably regenerative) braking on the track is just as hard as acceleration on the batteries, especially on a car as heavy as a Tesla.
The Telsa Racing channel guy has been at it for quiet awhile now and the general consensus is that there is not any magic to his car other than what the factory bestowed upon it and it hasn't yet been "tuned". The thing is just a drag strip bruiser and that's really all their is to it. Up against something that theoretically could run with it, like a Shelby GT500 or Hellcat, the heat soak from the blower is probably a bigger problem than Tesla battery heating. He hot laps it on the street all the time and just saws people off left and right.
A road course and a drag strip are not equal environments. I imagine all of the hard (and presumably regenerative) braking on the track is just as hard as acceleration on the batteries, especially on a car as heavy as a Tesla.
The Telsa Racing channel guy has been at it for quiet awhile now and the general consensus is that there is not any magic to his car other than what the factory bestowed upon it and it hasn't yet been "tuned". The thing is just a drag strip bruiser and that's really all their is to it. Up against something that theoretically could run with it, like a Shelby GT500 or Hellcat, the heat soak from the blower is probably a bigger problem than Tesla battery heating. He hot laps it on the street all the time and just saws people off left and right.
And that's for a car with a curb weight of over 4,300 lbs, imagine if it could lose some serious weight.
Battery technology has been poking along with incremental increases ever since the lithium-breakthrough. Costs can decline, and reliability increase, as the market broadens. But another breakthrough? Or even a continuation of the past several decades' trends, without asymptoting?
Where I'd love to see innovation, is in much lighter (even if less powerful) electric cars. A Tesla of the size and weight of a Miata, but with better acceleration - even if with only 100 mile range - would be tremendously interesting.
I wish others would build a halfway decent looking electric car also. I don't understand why some of them have to try so hard to look so odd lol is it asking too much to have a lightweight body that's not so ugly?
A road course and a drag strip are not equal environments. I imagine all of the hard (and presumably regenerative) braking on the track is just as hard as acceleration on the batteries, especially on a car as heavy as a Tesla.
The Telsa Racing channel guy has been at it for quiet awhile now and the general consensus is that there is not any magic to his car other than what the factory bestowed upon it and it hasn't yet been "tuned". The thing is just a drag strip bruiser and that's really all their is to it. Up against something that theoretically could run with it, like a Shelby GT500 or Hellcat, the heat soak from the blower is probably a bigger problem than Tesla battery heating. He hot laps it on the street all the time and just saws people off left and right.
A lap around VIR is about 3 minutes. The Tesla can't be driven hard for 3 minutes without going into limp mode, whereas many internal combustion powered cars can turn many laps and never go into limp mode. The Tesla, for now, is a novelty. Again, I look forward to the day when electric cars aren't one trick ponies and can be driven like a real performance car. Kudos to Tesla for pushing this technology forward, but they're just not there yet. I know one thing for sure, the my car doesn't lose power as the gas tank empties. Nor does it overheat during a spirited drive down a twisting road.
My biggest gripe with this test is that they pick and choose which models of the cars to race, and sometimes, like in this case, it'll be the top of the line Tesla, but they've got it going up against lesser models of cars.
Why not include a Z06? Why not include a McLaren 650S (which should be able to beat the Tesla through the 1/4, 10.5 at 136), or the new 720S, which is even quicker?
Glad they used a Porsche Turbo S, but the Tesla would lose to a 918, and most likely lose to the new GT2. Probably couldn't get their hands on a GT2 though. As far as including the Cayman, that was just silly, even though it didn't come in last for having the least amount of power. Would rather have seen something like a Mustang GT350 or Viper.
My biggest gripe with this test is that they pick and choose which models of the cars to race, and sometimes, like in this case, it'll be the top of the line Tesla, but they've got it going up against lesser models of cars.
Why not include a Z06? Why not include a McLaren 650S (which should be able to beat the Tesla through the 1/4, 10.5 at 136), or the new 720S, which is even quicker?
Glad they used a Porsche Turbo S, but the Tesla would lose to a 918, and most likely lose to the new GT2. Probably couldn't get their hands on a GT2 though. As far as including the Cayman, that was just silly, even though it didn't come in last for having the least amount of power. Would rather have seen something like a Mustang GT350 or Viper.
The Cayman did surprisingly well, especially considering its price (as did the Camaro). An even more illuminating test would have had an upper-bound of price... say $150K... sufficiently generous as to encompass some pretty high-end machinery, but excluding the hypercars. Yet another interesting choice would have been the Lotus Evora 400, which currently lists for just under $100K. There are plenty others. All such rosters are entirely subjective. Even so, we learned some useful points:
- Heavy cars can do pretty well in a drag-race, if endowed with sufficient power, and attaining good traction. that of course nowise guarantees their overall sporting-appeal.
- Luxury cars with performance-aspirations are at the bottom end of this group. But even those cars are spectacular, compared to what was possible even 20 years ago.
- Some traditional sports-cars, not necessarily regarded as drag-racing brutes, still manage to acquit themselves finely.
- The classical muscle car, re-imagined in modern trim, can be shockingly fast.
My biggest gripe with this test is that they pick and choose which models of the cars to race, and sometimes, like in this case, it'll be the top of the line Tesla, but they've got it going up against lesser models of cars.
Why not include a Z06? Why not include a McLaren 650S (which should be able to beat the Tesla through the 1/4, 10.5 at 136), or the new 720S, which is even quicker?
Glad they used a Porsche Turbo S, but the Tesla would lose to a 918, and most likely lose to the new GT2. Probably couldn't get their hands on a GT2 though. As far as including the Cayman, that was just silly, even though it didn't come in last for having the least amount of power. Would rather have seen something like a Mustang GT350 or Viper.
It's unreal that the slowest car in the test is a 13.0 Lexus and 2nd loser is a 'Vette running 12.2...
I also was expecting to see the #1 car (which I have not spoiled) in the top 5, but not at #1. Absolutely bonkers.
I know they couldn't corner or stop like todays cars, but back in 62, S/S 409 Chevy's and 406 Fords were turning better than 12.2 in the NHRA finals. Only thing new cars have is better mileage, more safety, and lower emissions. But acceleration, eh, it's a draw.
I know they couldn't corner or stop like todays cars, but back in 62, S/S 409 Chevy's and 406 Fords were turning better than 12.2 in the NHRA finals. Only thing new cars have is better mileage, more safety, and lower emissions. But acceleration, eh, it's a draw.
Nope. Off the showroom floor, the vast majority of old muscle cars couldn't break mid-13s in the 1/4 and they had equally dismal trap speeds, so it's more than a traction issue. Only purpose built drag cars went any quicker. Today's cars are much, much quicker in a straight line. There's tons of data out there that proves it.
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World's Greatest Drag Race 6
