Watch Tesla’s 691-hp Model S P85D annihilate a Dodge Challenger Hellcat

By Stephen Edelstein January 20, 2015

The Tesla Model S P85D has already thrashed a couple of Italian supercars, and now it’s got another high-profile drag race victory under its belt.

We clearly live in a golden age of automotive performance when one can walk into a dealership (or Tesla Store) and buy a 691-horsepower electric car, or a 707-hp muscle car like the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.

Two owners recently put these beasts side-by-side on a drag strip to answer the obvious question, and this video shows the carnage wrought on the Dodge by the Tesla.

When the lights went green, the Model S simply drove away from the Challenger, setting a claimed record for fastest-accelerating electric car with a quarter mile time of 11.6 seconds, and a trap speed of 114.6 mph.

Granted, the Challenger driver seems to have badly botched the start. The car lurches prematurely while the light is still red, the hesitates and spins its wheels when it’s really time to go.

Dodge says the Challenger Hellcat will do an 11.2-second quarter mile, the HEMI-powered coupe theoretically should have been faster. Yet a clean launch is vital in drag racing, as this matchup demonstrates.

It also demonstrates just how easy it is to drive the P85D fast. With all-wheel drive, sophisticated control software, and the instantaneous response of two electric motors, it’s much harder for the driver to screw up.

It’s even more impressive considering that the Model S is a four-door luxury sedan, although the two cars are closer in weight than you might think, with the Tesla tipping the scales at about 200 pounds heavier than the Dodge.

At least the Challenger looks cool doing a burnout.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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