Yup, you read that correctly. This stock Honda beat a Tesla Model S P100D in a drag race AT a drag strip.
Stock car to stock car, Tesla’s fastest offering, the P100D, has been pretty much-shaming cars that are twice and sometimes three times the price. But it’s reign has come to an end. According to this drag race video from Drag Times they uploaded earlier today (Dec. 27, 2017) this totally stock Honda straight from the factory took on a Tesla Model S P100D and completely won, fair and square. Don’t believe me? Check out the video for yourself below!
Alright, so I admit that the term stock Honda was a bit of a grey area when it comes to claims. In my defense, only in America is the Acura NSX called an Acura. Everywhere else, including Japan, it’s just a Honda. It’s also Honda’s fastest offering on four wheels, so there’s that.
And when I said the Honda beat the Tesla, out of two races, the Honda actually did. But if both cars had identical reaction times, I reckon the NSX would’ve lost.
As mentioned, there were two drag races. In the first drag race, the NSX and Model S pretty much go at the same time with the Tesla taking the lead from the get-go and keeping its lead to the very end. The NSX was reeling in the Model S P100D towards the end, so in a half mile or longer, the NSX would’ve won. In this race, the NSX only lost by .14 second. But in a quarter mile, that’s like an eternity.
In the second race, the NSX gets a better reaction time, takes the lead and keeps it. The Tesla Model S P100D doesn’t have a chance.
Both cars are technological tour de forces which achieve similar results using vastly different technologies. Whereas the Tesla Model S P100D is all electric and has a flat torque curve, the Acura NSX has a twin turbo V6 with a similar torque curve filled out thanks to three electric motors. Both cost roughly similar in base trim, the Tesla putting you back $140K and the NSX just $16K more.
Estimates peg the Tesla P100D to have around 580 HP and 960 lb-ft. The Acura NSX is quoted at 573 HP and 476 lb-ft.
It’s an interesting matchup for sure. Hats off to Acura on making one underrated drag machine and keeping ICE engines alive, relevant, and well.