Watch the Tesla Model S Plaid crush 2 of the world's quickest motorcycles in a drag race
- The $133,000 Tesla Model S Plaid is the fastest-accelerating production car you can buy.
- It hits 60 mph in under two seconds and hits 120 mph in under six.
- Edmunds pitted the Plaid against two of the quickest motorcycles on the planet in a new video.
The 1,020-horsepower Tesla Model S Plaid can smoke any production car you pit it against. But is there a stock motorcycle that can beat the $130,000 super sedan in a straight line?
That's what Edmunds aimed to find out when it brought a Plaid and two of the quickest superbikes on the planet to the track for a recent video. (Watch the clip below.)
Both the Suzuki Hayabusa and the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R are tremendously quick, packing larger engines and more horsepower than many cars. They both claim a limited top speed of 186 mph and promise to demolish a quarter mile in under 10 seconds.
If any two-wheelers could stand a chance against Tesla's most off-the-wall vehicle yet, it would be these. Edmunds gave the Hayabusa and Ninja ZX-14R a fair shot by enlisting motorcycle drag racer Chris Moore for the tests.
Although the motorcycles could keep up with the Plaid at their best, neither could deliver a decisive win over the Tesla. The Hayabusa won one roll-on race starting at 40 mph, but it may have jumped the start. From a standing start, the Tesla was clearly quicker.
There is one edge that the bikes may have over the Plaid: longevity. Edmunds' Carlos Lago, the Plaid's driver, noted that the car's performance had degraded slightly after a handful of speed runs. Another pro is price. If you want to go outrageously fast and not drop six figures, both the Hayabusa and Ninja ZX-14R can be had for under 20 grand.
The main lesson to draw from Edmunds' tests: the Model S Plaid beats not only every four-wheeled vehicle, but any stock road-going vehicle you can buy, period. And that's not all that surprising, given that this is a four-door sedan that puts any Lamborghini, Ferrari, or McLaren to shame.
Another takeaway? Please don't try this at home.