Tesla Model S VS. Chevy Volt Drag Race

While we’re still technically in the middle of winter, for racers of all kinds February feels like the final stretch of cold, wintery days. At the end of January the National Electric Drag Racing Association held its first drag race of the 2013 season, giving us a glimpse of what the Tesla Model S can do on the track. But what about the Chevy Volt? This video pits both green cars against each other, and the results aren’t what we’d call surprising.

Last week we saw what happens when you race a Tesla Model S against a Dodge Viper SRT10, and dyno results have confirmed that this is one powerful electric sedan. The Chevy Volt is a much more pedestrian vehicle, with peak power of just 149 horsepower and a respectable 273 ft-lbs of torque. Even still, it was never meant to be a sports car of any kind.

So it’s no shocker that the Tesla Model S screams down the drag strip in just 12.562 seconds at a top speed of 108.3 mph, while the Chevy Volt cruises across the finish line in 17.2 seconds at just 80 mph. It’s one of the weirder drag races you’ll ever see, given how quiet it is, but as the Tesla proves, you don’t need to be loud to be fast.

There are some other pure-electric drag races we’d like to see that might be more evenly matched. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive vs. the Audi R8 e-tron would be a fierce race, and we’d like to see the upcoming Cadillac ELR race its Chevy sibling, the Volt, in a head-to-head competition. The Fisker Karma versus the Tesla Model S would also be fun to watch. Electric vehicles finally seem…exciting.

Source: Dragtimes