Tesla Car Racing Cars

Hoonigan’s YouTube channel returns with another “Hoonicorn versus the world” episode and this time it’s all on the line because the mighty Hoonicorn goes up against a Tesla Model S Plaid – the bane of many high-performance, combustion-powered vehicles. So far the Lia Block – Ken Block’s, 14-year old daughter - has been crushing it, losing only to a 2,000 horsepower Nissan GT-R. Will Tesla take another scalp or will the Hoonicorn finally put it in its place?

The Tesla Model S Plaid has shamed so many beloved supercars and sports cars in the past on the drag strip. It is arguably one of the hottest factory cars when it comes to drag racing. And, it only seems to be the start. The Plaid has been spied repeatedly with an Aero Package that will only improve its track and straight-line performances. While we wait for that to come, the standard Plaid has been continuing its dominance, this time taking down a 700-horsepower Porsche 911 Turbo S Other than the Rimac Nevera, is there any other worthy opponent for the Plaid right now?

Tesla unveiled the Model S Plaid a week back, and a couple of days after that, Unplugged Performance revealed a race-spec version of this car. Mind you, this is the world’s fastest production car that takes just 1.99 seconds to sprint to 60 mph from rest. And, Unplugged Performance has gone a step ahead and created a race-spec version of this EV to take part in this year’s Pikes Peak race.

Randy Pobst, the pro racing driver from Motor Trend, will be behind the wheel. Last year, Randy piloted the Model 3 at the event, also spec’d by Unplugged Performance, but it went off the course. But, past is the past, and he’s back again to pilot another car, which is arguably much quicker, and take on the Pikes Peak challenge.

On paper, an SUV should have no business competing against a supercar in a drag race. But the cars in question, a Ferrari 812 Superfast and a Tesla Model X P100D, aren’t exactly too far apart in the performance category. One produces 588 horsepower and 910 pound-feet of torque, while the other has 790 horsepower and 530 pound-feet of torque on tap. Line them side-by-side on a drag strip and the question of who wins isn’t as ridiculous as it sounds. In the end, such a race took place at the Drag Times home track of Palm Beach International Raceway. As for which car won? Watch the video and find out.

Apart from the recent Plaid version, it’s been quite some time since we heard anything about the Cybertruck.

A Twitter user felt the same and tweeted Musk asking for some information. Musk obliged and said that Tesla is working on improving the Cybertruck’s air suspension so it can “kick butt in Baja”.

For the uninitiated, Baja 1000 is a Mexican off-road motorsport race that features all sorts of vehicles customized for off-roading. Imagine a bizarre-shaped electric vehicle drifting, flying, and racing on mud. Oh, and also think about how would it look with all the customizations and graphics on the body?

The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, otherwise known as the FIA, just gave the all-Tesla Electric GT World Series racing series its blessing following passing marks from the series’ cars in recent crash testing. Approval from the FIA, the same organization that keeps Formula 1 in check, gives the upcoming racing championship some serious clout, and moves it that much closer to becoming a reality.

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This past weekend, a modified Tesla Model S set the new Electric Production class record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, cresting the summit in 11:48.264. The new record is part of a surge in EV competition at the world-famous motor race.

Piloting the record-setting Tesla was Blake Fuller, CEO of Go Puck, a Florida-based producer of mobile device charging solutions with a history in developing race car battery technology. Fuller first raced at Pikes Peak in 1999, earning the title of Rookie of the Year at the age of 18. In 2002, he took a win in the Open class.

This year, the Go Puck Tesla was the only entry in the Electric Production class. Fuller trounced the previous record of 12:55.591, which was set in 2014 by Roy Richards driving a 2012 Honda Fit EV.

Overall, the Go Puck Tesla placed 65th in a field that included some of the most badass speed machines on the planet, including the 2016-spec Norma M20 RD of Romain Dumas, and the 1,600-horsepower Drive eO PP100 of Rhys Millen.

To put it in perspective, Fuller’s time slotted between two entries from the Time Attack 1 class – the Toyota Starlet of Mikko Kataja (11:48.877), and the Subaru WRX STI of Andy Kingsley (11:55.849), which placed 11th and 12th in class, respectively.

Compared to the leaderboards, Fuller’s time might not seem that impressive, but trust me, it is. The Go Puck Model S is breaking new ground for Tesla’s popular four-door, forging a path towards that holy of holies – racing. What’s more, it represents a critical facet of the real EV Revolution currently taking place at America’s Mountain.

Read on for the details, including a profile of the Go Puck Tesla Model S race car.

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The world’s first electric GT championship will commence in 2017, Electric GT Holdings, owner and promoter of the series, has revealed today. The new championship aims to become the first 100 percent zero emissions race series for GT cars and hopes to gather 10 teams consisting of two vehicles on the starting grid for the 2017 season.

Details are scarce as of this writing, but Electric GT Holdings announced it plans a seven-race season with events in Europe, America, and Asia. Race tracks mentioned by the promoter include Barcelona in Spain, Estoril in Portugal, Donington in England, and Mugello in Italy.

Competitors will race identical cars in the first season, with Electric GT’s choice being the Tesla Model S. Already tested on the Catalunya and Jarama circuits in Spain, the race-spec model will have improved suspension and brakes, a new cooling system, and reduced curb weight. Output will sit at 416 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque, 54 horses less than the rear-wheel drive P85 model it is based on.

"We chose the Tesla model S simply because it is one of the best cars ever made, and certainly one of the best 100 per cent electric cars," said Paya. "We are convinced that sharing its impressive circuit racing potential will help to inspire many people towards sustainable transport."

While the series will begin with as one-make championship, other companies will be welcome in the future, as the plan is to "promote sustainable mobility" by watching "commercially available models you can see on the streets racing on circuits around the world."

The Electric GT Championship will join Formula E, a zero emissions series using

style single seaters. Formula E ran its first season in 2014-2015.

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Almost two weeks ago we showed you a rather interesting drag racing video where a Tesla Model S P85D simply walks away from a V-12-powered Ferrari 550/575M Maranello in a straight line. While that result was kind of expected even before hitting the play button, a new race featuring the same Tesla model and a V-12-powered Italian supercar has surfaced, and you are probably going to have a hard time believing what happened between the two.

First of all, the Tesla no longer battles a 13-plus-year-old Ferrari but a brand new Lamborghini Aventador LP-700 with only 44 miles on the clock. Second of all, the Tesla is no longer part of a test drive, but it is part of a young owner’s stable... as is the Aventador it raced against. To refresh your memory, the Aventador LP-700 is powered by a naturally aspirated, 6.5-liter, V-12 that develops no less than 691 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. Mated to a sequential transmission and an all-wheel-drive system, the Italian monster should hit 62 mph from a standing start in just 2.9 seconds, so it theory not even the Model S P85D should be a match from a dig.

The Tesla Model S P85D also comes with 691 horsepower but a gargantuan amount of torque delivered by two electric motors. Also with all-wheel drive, the electric car’s official numbers mention a 3.2-second run from naught to 60 mph, but in real life things may sit a little bit different. As seen in the above video, up until about 50 mph the Tesla actually pulls ahead of the Lambo and until 80 mph they are neck and neck, with the Aventador only getting ahead at higher speeds. Sure, we’re told that the Lamborghini isn’t using its Thrust Mode launch-control feature for this race, but the way that the Tesla completely obliterates it at lower speeds is pretty astounding.