Model S Plaid

Make
Tesla
Segment
Sedan

Hoonicorn's This vs That series on YouTube is one of the most popular car-based series on the internet right now. The concept behind the series is simple: two cars (this and that) race down an airstrip over a predetermined distance and see who wins. We've covered a bunch of these races, but our favorite thus far has been the Hoonicorn vs. The World races, where drift legend Ken Block takes on all sorts of weird and wonderful machines in his 1,400-horsepower Ford Mustang drift car. For season two, his daughter Lia gets behind the wheel. Last time we saw her in action, the Hoonicorn was defeated by a seriously fast Nissan GT-R, but this time the stakes are even higher: the Hoonicorn is going up against a Tesla Model S Plaid.

So, let's look at the cars. The Hoonicorn is a highly modified 1965 Ford Mustang that runs a twin-turbo V8 engine kicking out 1,400 horses. Power is channeled to all four wheels via a newly-installed six-speed Sadev paddle-shift transmission. Thanks to its AWD drivetrain and a curb weight of only 2,998 lbs, the Hoonicorn gets off the line quickly, and its rapid shifts help it stay in boost all the way down the track. The Tesla Model S Plaid on the other hand is a heavy Heffalump, tipping the scales at 4,766 lbs. In its favor, it gets instant torque from its three electric motors and a total power output of 1,020 hp and 1,050 lb-ft. According to Tesla, this is good for a 0-60-mph time of 1.99 seconds and a top speed of 200 mph. This should be good.

In the first race, the two cars go head-to-head to a thousand feet. Before the hands can drop, the Tesla takes a slight jump, but as the This vs That race rules stipulate, "a chase is a race". Despite the early start, the Hoonicorn reels the Tesla in and wins the race by a few car lengths. In the second race, the Tesla gets a car length and the hit to 500 feet. This time the Tesla takes it by half a car. In the final race, the cars race to 500 feet. The Tesla nails the launch, but the Hoonicorn is just too powerful, and takes the race by a hood length. Considering the fact that the Hoonicorn is a dedicated AWD race car, the Tesla didn't perform too badly at all. Now bring on the Rimac Nevera.