It may be an electric SUV, but the Tesla Model X has the muscle to keep up with some serious performance cars. There are no shortage of videos of Teslas taking on muscle cars and supercars in drag races, but this might be the best matchup yet.
DragTimes lined up a Tesla Model X P100D with the “Ludicrous+” performance mode against a Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 Superveloce at Palm Beach International Raceway. The Tesla held its own against the mighty Italian supercar, and even set a world record for an SUV in the quarter mile, according to DragTimes.
The P100D is the hottest version of Tesla’s SUV, boasting a 100-kilowatt-hour battery pack and dual-motor all-wheel drive. Because of the way Teslas deploy their power, there is some debate about actual output, but DragTimes estimates 588 horsepower and 920 pound-feet of torque.
Similarly, the LP750-4 Superveloce, or SV for short, is the most extreme Aventador. Its 6.5-liter V12 produces 740 horsepower and 508 pound-feet of torque. The SV has more power than other Aventador variants, as well as numerous aerodynamic and chassis tweaks to make it perform better on the track. Like the Model X, the Aventador SV has all-wheel drive.
At the drag strip, the Model X beat the Lambo by 0.05 second, but that’s largely due to the Aventador driver’s poor reaction time. The Lamborghini actually had a lower elapsed time and higher trap speed, at 11.281 seconds and 129.38 mph, respectively, compared to 11.418 seconds and 117.85 mph for the Model X. That elapsed time was an SUV record, according to DragTimes.
The Aventador SV also raced a Tesla Model S P100D, and this time the tables were turned. The Lambo driver left way ahead of the Tesla driver, and got to the end of the track first. But the Tesla had the lower elapsed time: 10.94 seconds (at 119.71 mph), compared to 11.164 seconds (at 129.08 mph).
It just goes to show that, in drag racing, reaction times can be the deciding factor. No matter how powerful a car is, or how good it is at putting that power to the ground, the driver needs to be on his or her game.
