Watch Tesla’s 691hp Model S P85D Going Head-to-Head Against Dodge’s 707hp Charger Hellcat
Motor Trend's Jonny Lieberman narrates an interesting 17-minute video on YouTube that pits the world's quickest sedan against the world's fastest sedan, those two being the Tesla Model S P85D and Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, respectively, both 2015 variants. Before getting to the results, it's important to understand the difference.
As the video begins, Lieberman offers a basic explanation of the difference between quick and fast, and by extension, torque and horsepower. It goes like this -- hitting 60 miles per hour in just three seconds is super quick, but if the top speed is only 60MPH, you can't say the car is fast. By that same token, a car that can go 200MPH is really fast, but it's not quick if takes a long time to reach that speed.
"Shorthand -- torque plus traction equals quick; horsepower equals fast," Lieberman explains.
Primer out of the way, what we have here are two incredibly mean machines. The first is the Tesla Model S P85D, which is rocking 691 horsepower, all of which is electric, and 687 pound-feet of torque. Yes, feel free to let out a Tim Allen grunt, Home Improvement style (anyone remember that show?). As if that weren't enough, Tesla gave this beast an optional "Insane" mode in case you want to accelerate faster than the default "Sport" mode.
The other vehicle is the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, a muscle machine wielding a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine putting out 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. Interestingly, there's no manual option -- the only transmission available is a paddle-shifted eight-speed automatic.
On paper, it's a pretty even match between these two vehicles. But can an electric car really keep pace or even surpass a gas guzzling modern hot rod? Rather than spoil it for you, take a 17-minute break and watch the video above, or if you're short on time, skip ahead to the 14 min, 40 sec mark, and enjoy!
As the video begins, Lieberman offers a basic explanation of the difference between quick and fast, and by extension, torque and horsepower. It goes like this -- hitting 60 miles per hour in just three seconds is super quick, but if the top speed is only 60MPH, you can't say the car is fast. By that same token, a car that can go 200MPH is really fast, but it's not quick if takes a long time to reach that speed.
"Shorthand -- torque plus traction equals quick; horsepower equals fast," Lieberman explains.
Primer out of the way, what we have here are two incredibly mean machines. The first is the Tesla Model S P85D, which is rocking 691 horsepower, all of which is electric, and 687 pound-feet of torque. Yes, feel free to let out a Tim Allen grunt, Home Improvement style (anyone remember that show?). As if that weren't enough, Tesla gave this beast an optional "Insane" mode in case you want to accelerate faster than the default "Sport" mode.
The other vehicle is the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, a muscle machine wielding a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine putting out 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. Interestingly, there's no manual option -- the only transmission available is a paddle-shifted eight-speed automatic.
On paper, it's a pretty even match between these two vehicles. But can an electric car really keep pace or even surpass a gas guzzling modern hot rod? Rather than spoil it for you, take a 17-minute break and watch the video above, or if you're short on time, skip ahead to the 14 min, 40 sec mark, and enjoy!
