You may remember that last month at Palm Beach International Raceway, a 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat went toe to toe with a Tesla Model S P85D, and things didn’t exactly go according to plan for the Mopar.
When the lights went green, the Hellcat driver botched the launch and spun the tires nearly half way down the strip. Meanwhile the P85D, which sports dual electric motors good for 691 horsepower and all-wheel-drive, ran an 11.6 @ 114.6 mph, setting the record for the fastest electric sedan in the world in the process.
For the owner of a drag strip legend in the making, one which has been touted by Dodge as being the fastest production muscle car ever made, the outcome didn’t sit well. Since January, he’s been fine tuning things a bit, and it looks like he’s ready for a rematch. If he ends up running a pass like the one in this video, the Tesla is really going to have its work cut out for it.
Images: Tesla Motors
After practicing his launch technique, the Hellcat driver was reportedly able to get his times down well into the 11s on the stock 275mm rubber. But once he swapped out the stock tires for some 305mm Nitto 555R drag radials, thing got especially interesting – to the tune of 10.8 @ 127 mph.
Will it be enough to thwart the P85D with its advanced computer assistance and all-wheel drive? As we saw before, one mistake can ruin a pass. But if all goes according to plan, it may be the Tesla owner that will need to come up with excuses next time around. Either way, that’s a rematch we’re anxiously looking forward to.