1200hp Corvette C8 v Model S Plaid: DRAG RACE

Sell your car for free with Carwow: bit.ly/Sell-Yo...
Check out this incredible petrol vs electric drag race!
We’ve got our hands on the awesome Tesla Model S Plaid, and it’s facing off against an insane Corvette C8 that’s been tuned to 1,200hp!!
So let’s see how the two compare. Starting with the Tesla, it’s housing three motors under the skin that combine to produce 1,020hp and 1,420Nm of torque. Naturally, the batteries and motors weigh a fair bit, and the Model S tips the scales at 2,167kg. What’s more, this Model S comes with a few upgrades, including some Koenigsegg carbon fibre aero at the front & around the back!
Then alongside it, we have the Corvette, which has had a whole lot more work done to it than just adding some aero! As a result, the 6.2-litre twin-turbo V8 now produces 1,200hp and an amazing 1,491Nm of torque! So it’s packing a serious punch, but this power is sent to the rear wheels only!
So will the Corvette be able to put the power down? Or will it be a clear win for Tesla? There’s only one way to find out for sure… LET’S RACE!
Thanks to everyone who helped set up this race:
- Model S Plaid: / bisimoto / unpluggedperformance
- Corvette C8: / galindoelec20

[@dboy5973]

Petition to have lights as a countdown to prevent jump starts for future races 🙋‍♂️

[@tomaszwidomski5367]

You pay for them and bring them every time 👌💀

[@matthewnorman9803]

If you get popular can you please change your comment to "we need a Hyundai Getz"

[@RipsawEV_2]

Ikr? The hands signs leave the newer guests confused resulting in jumping or late reaction times

[@BFDCFAP-bn5yh]

Agreed 👍

[@hsnnwz]

Totally agree, I have also noticed it makes it unfair for anyone who is new to this. The lights will also show a fair representation of cars performance as well.

[@shadowred1980]

The corvette was misfiring it's brains out on every run. Hats off to the owner for keeping it in the races. Some great drag races in 2023, looking forward to what you have planned in 2024.

[@richardshaw1968]

Yep should have far quicker, fair play for them still trying

[@Domani02]

De la grosse merde à cette puissance

[@Domani02]

De la grosse merde à cette puissance

[@abderrahmanelbakkali190]

Actually, that engine was probably almost done and that's why they let him thrash it and also why he said they were going to change it soon.

[@Gino_567]

wouldn't have mattered either way lol

[@Mridul.scentman]

Race starts at @5:28

[@FaizMehdi13]

Ive been saying this for a while where the intros have gotten way too long. Some of the other recent videos have 7-9mins of intro before the first race even begins

[@cadman10000]

And is over @5:30

[@matthewp9015]

@@FaizMehdi13the videos need to be a certain length for KZbin’s algorithm.

[@WYATTFC99]

THNX!!! They're very loooong winded....

[@justrandomthings319]

@@matthewp9015 No, they don't.

[@TheJPomp]

Make all the excuses you want, the plaid whooped that vette.

[@SSpeed-demon]

Bro it's cuz the dude who tuned the car was dogshit

[@robertblack1965]

And the Lucid DESTROYS THE PLAID!

[@xpreflex6265]

​@@robertblack1965 🤣🤣🤣 and how many has been sold?

[@beedub0218]

I think that Corvette left 300 hp at home....

[@Enzo505]

Atleast

[@anthonypittman6949]

My thoughts exactly 😂

[@ZJL-.]

Tesla is faster than you think

[@traysdad]

And you being modest

[@AB-80X]

I think it is safe to say that the corvette was tested on a Dynojet

[@stevewaters2974]

The sound that plaid makes while under full acceleration is bonkers!

[@MrWildwilly48]

Then you would love my vacuum sweeper.

[@BrandonBigB956]

Sounds like a freaking space ship hitting warp speed

[@MrSpuzzz]

I know it literally sounds like the sound effect they use in roadrunner cartoons when RR dusts the coyote

[@trey9128]

@@MrWildwilly48 Yep. I so miss the sounds and fumes of running through the gears of my old gasoline powered vacuum cleaner.

[@theairaccumulator7144]

It's a fake sound effect emitted from speakers... all electric cars have this as it's legally required to have speakers that alert pedestrians to your presence because the motors themselves make very little noise.

[@rgraph]

Drone-cam that follows the cars up the track would be great... :-)

[@Guygotphonecall]

Model S plaid in front of supercars: you fast? Oh you are? Ok cool. BUT NOT ANYMORE HAHAHA

[@4gegtyreeyuyeddffvyt]

11.0 quarter mile seems a little slow for a 1200hp vette

[@danielheiss3299]

The worst cars out. So corny. Like cornier than the Tesla

[@snakeeyes9246]

What surprised me more is the fact that a Tesla actually won a brake test.

[@lacetkewc]

Hp is nothing without traction.

[@Json918]

What do you think happens when you don’t have a fully prepped track surface to aid those shatboxes 😂 it’s always some excuse with these cars race gas, heat soak, goofy tires, and power that can only be put down in a controlled setting. 🤡 🤡

[@RA31A]

Send the Vette back where it came from or better yet, to a different shoppe who know what they're doing. The name Hennessy comes to mind.

[@simsalb]

When I heard Sam describe the size of his brakes, my first thought was, why was Matt's Tesla the only one equipped with a drag parachute 😲

[@purwantiallan5089]

Very interesting actually.

[@stefan_5.7]

My exact thought process

[@vanvan143]

The drag parachute is not specifically mounted for this quarter mile race.

[@mm6705]

its set up for drag class rules, requiring a parachute to make multiple passes at or above 150mph in the quarter, and or below 10 seconds. iirc so its essentially a stock plaid, but one that wont get kicked out after the first run at the drag strip. Some strips wont let plaids run at all without a chute, they have notoriously poor brakes even at the first application, because the car uses painfully poor brake components as its only source of traction control. did you know the plaid doesn't even have DOT3 brake fluid? The brake pads are super low temp as well lol...its like they are purposely trying to kill their owners.

[@vxer1000]

Carwow: Let's drag race insanely powerful cars on the worst possible surface so the turd wins.

[@AfriqueNY]

About time somebody noticed that. No way anything but AWD is winning on that track. It was cartoonishly bad. I expected the road runner and wil E Coyote to run across the track

[@timboland02]

The locked TCMs on the C8s is definitely a huge disadvantage with getting the big HP C8s to power forward smoothly. Can't wait for that to be unlocked. It wasn't too long ago that unlocking the ECM came available. Hopefully it won't be much longer for the TCM to be done.

[@mackassef473]

Uh the C8 is unlocked now my man

[@ReflexGs31]

Global B unlocked c8s

[@dtruth5769]

Nothings gonna beat a Plaid on a unprepared track.

[@eretareodjugo]

McMurtry Speirling and Rimac Nevera say hi

[@fabienroduit8911]

@@eretareodjugo The price tag is not quite the same though

[@noone7772]

Imagine you need a 2-3 million dollar Rimac to win against a Plaid in a track race 😂

[@lemongavine]

$250K Lucid Air Sapphire beats it on unprepped surface

[@K-bob_45]

I bet a tuned turbo s would beat it pretty handily. Lol this is the worst video ever though to tout tuned cars. A tuned M car with AWD might also give it a run

[@michaelservetus5340]

As a C8 owner waiting patiently to get my Lingenfelter Magnusen Supercharger System work done, I specifically Google-searched to see whether the kind of drag race shown here between a boosted C8 and a Tesla Plaid was available on video, not knowing one of my favorite channels, CarWow, produced this video eight months ago. Not truly caring about the ultimate outcome of the race(s) at the outset, and making this comment before viewing the result(s)--I still think it will be difficult for the boosted C8 to take the Plaid (a car I also appreciate and hope to own in the next couple years), although it's not impossible a sufficiently boosted C8 could win on the right surface with hot tires that actually hook up enough at the outset--just ten seconds into the intro and I was literally giggling like a 6'4" 210 pound schoolgirl. In it's non-boosted state, I've taken many run-of-the-mill, dual-electric-engine Teslas from a dig, and haven't lost to one yet. But, even though I've actually only seen a couple Tesla Plaid models here in Utah in person out on the road (don't know why I don't see them more often), and one of the Plaids was driven on a freeway by a female perhaps a couple decades my senior who I doubt would want to race in any circumstance, I think it's only a matter of time before I end up lining up against a Plaid at some point.

[@mistreku]

That Tesla is sooo cool! Would love to see a time around the Ring!

[@DOC-Q458]

Not a tesla fan but that's a nice looking car👌

[@arisengladiator]

I agree. The fitment of the wheels along with the lowered suspension make it look really appealing.

[@Unodeescada]

and only one engine in it is a V8 or V10 😊

[@LaczPro]

That Tesla is special. Is it the same team that made the one Randy Pobst drove (and crashed) on Pikes Peak? Also, futuristic noises mixed with La Cucaracha. Nice.

[@nikko1984]

I wonder what will be the last video of the crazy year. Mat is about to please us I reckon! 😊

[@BT-wh7te]

Mat pleases me everyday ;)

[@purwantiallan5089]

I belive the last video of 2023 would be a drag race between: 1998 TVR SPEED 12 vs Renault Sport SiFo Spider Super GT300 vs Vector M12 vs HONDA CBR1000RR SP-2.

[@rhysmuscle2329]

Electric cars are like the quiet guy in the room that you dont want to mess with......whilst combustion is like the loud guy that shouts lots then loses.

[@TexanUSMC8089]

Tesla Model S Plaid can run a 9.5 second quarter. There is no factory car that can compete with it. It can also corner better because all of the weight is right on the ground.

[@bigz8206]

The plaid body kit looks tough 😮😮😮

[@ACplanet]

would love to see the boostedboiz plaidessey on the channel up against some hyper cars

[@larryc1616]

It would be too embarrassing 😳

[@poolguy101]

I heard a carb tune really helps the plaid with the misfire and torque issues

[@krisjones74]

This wasn't a fair comparison. They obviously just put a new set of muffler bearings in the Tesla.

[@JoshuaTootell]

Stock blinker fluid too.

[@orbitaljunkie]

You can tell how fun that Tesla is by how not-excited Matt is launching it over and over lol

[@jptothetree]

It takes a lot to excite him nowadays. That man has driven well over a billion dollars worth of supercars lol

[@G82Watts]

I noticed that too matt has never sounded this bored in a car before. Just goes to show why no rappers no atheletes and no one that has alot of supercars drive a tesla. They don't feel special. Nothing about the interior or exterior excites u. The speed is cool but only ur body feels it. When ur in a real sports car all ur sense feel it. Way more of an experience and it feels like a special occasion even if u drive it everyday. Why do u think Matt bought a gt3rs. Teslas are just so plain jane. People that can afford better always get better.

[@GDM22]

@@G82Watts Seriously give it up, I have read through quite a bit of the the comments section and your name keeps coming up, your hatred of Teslas is pathological.

[@jwatt247]

I guess there's no denying the performance of electric the Vette had a 200 hp advantage and still loss 9.6s sheesh

[@costafilh0]

when an EV sounds more like an F1 car than an actuall F1 car 🤣🤣🤣

[@Unodeescada]

This Tesla is so violent that it makes more noise than the current V8

[@davesenatus5566]

Another Tesla race. Let's see what the Tesla haters will complain about this time.

[@terryhayward7905]

My only complaint is I don't have one.

[@sashoxxx]

My only complaint is that it didn't burn to the ground. Yet.

[@simonfrench4972]

Oil leaks, misfires, gearboxes..... exactly why I converted to electric.

[@joemartin8814]

Don’t know if it’s my competitive side but Matt putting himself in the fastest car every time grinds my gears. (Pardon the pun)

[@UlyssesQunt]

Well Sam is a professional driver so he gets the more difficult cars to drive.

[@darksy2020]

That Tesla sounds like THX studio intro/theme :)

[@larrynelson4909]

Getting a head start doesn't mean you won

[@gaming-with-the-people4815]

not a surprise, Awd and instant power makes up for that 200hp difference.

[@Lse380]

Nice one, the plaid is hard to beat.

[@karlk.6819]

Lucid air sapphire, zeekr 001 FR and hiphi A are all faster and quicker

[@josephquinto5812]

@@karlk.6819 Zeekr doesn’t crack the 9.2’s like the plaid can. Listing two cars that can beat the plaid kinda reiterates the fact that it’s hard to beat lol

[@karlk.6819]

@@josephquinto5812 HiPhi A with 1300hp should

[@fredzilco3943]

I will never understand why people have dumped so much money into the first generation stingray, instead of waiting for the Z06 model. Which is literally out now. I assume the Z06 with a fantastic tune and some build and some ecumenical magic , will be fucking insane

[@TheOhanaBennett]

I’m just glad I’m not the guy who paid for the Corvettes tuning and ‘upgrades’. He’s spent at least $150k for a car that would get smoked by a bone stock Vette. And probably a C7.

[@emem2756]

Tesla was so quick that even smoke was coming out😂

[@troytrivia]

On the last drag race from standing still, Sam should have floored the Corvette at 2.

[@joemarz2264]

You got it wrong guys. The winner is that who arrives last not first.

[@Charlesbjtown]

That vette MIGHT be making 700 at the tire..... MIGHT. Definitely doesn't move like a legit 1200HP car.

[@caliboyluis1983]

What was top speeds ? Should say that after every race

[@collincarter1564]

Imagine thinking you've dialed in a monster and it goes to go off the line and has a misfire

[@Ugandaman144]

That car looks like usain bolt jogging away from the C8

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

Need the AWD C8 Corvette to test against the Tesla. It has a helluva launch

[@logicalrationalfishing7481]

Electrics can deliver so much power so quickly, and it also seems they take less damage at these levels. Seems every maxed out Corvette, turbo Lambo, etc. always ends up having some issue after many hard runs like this.

[@emem2756]

Looks like Sam's strategy was to win by draining Tesla battery 😂

[@franklynpertuz7669]

In Soul ladies and gentlemen the most fastest microwave on four wheels for only $115 billion dollars you can have one of these too

[@matthewcosta9893]

The biggest issue with the ette is way too many gears. That trans is set up for a500 HP gearing. If you could do a 2nd 4th 6th 8th 10th gear shift is would be some much faster

[@Jameskelvin89]

There is no tuning on an electric car. You may be able to disable some sort of governor, but there are no fuel maps to adjust. Also, these are lithium battery packs. Pushing any more power out of a tesla is just asking for a massive fireball.

[@fatyank44]

Why don't you run that Tesla against a Lucid Sapphire 🤔, now that would be a race..

[@jcendless2626]

Imagine how fast Tesla Roadster will be with SpaceX cold thrusters!

[@KTAssassin]

That C8 does not have 1200hp it’s running stock numbers 😂

[@danradcliffe6255]

A drag set up as far as suspension and tires with a supposed 1200hp engine ran an 11? My WRX would give that Vette a fit and I’m only 500 hp on street tires.

[@cruzin6123]

Whoever tuned that vette should retire. A stock vette is almost the same with a lot less HP.

[@MercedesE63S-AMG]

I think the owners of both cars should have raced their cars since they know the car & know how to drive it better.

[@stevenvittitoe]

Fun to watch but I think we’ve become a bit too obsessed with horsepower at this point.

[@samlengyel5453]

They're racing on non prepped surface with drag radials so the C8 has no traction while the plaid is on street radials which is a huge no no when they are cars like this.... Get a real drag strip for best outcome for the C8

[@leifhietala8074]

I'd be curious to see how the race turned out over a mile-long sprint. I reckon around the 3/4 mark it'd flip to the Corvette and stay there.

[@jonnygun5055]

I’ve said it before. Ev’s are the trans athletes of the car world. There is a place for them just not with internal combustion engine vehicles.

[@RyanSmith-vf1xg]

Why don’t more people report crap like this for false advertising and deception? It is unfortunate how easily people are manipulated into thinking this video is accurate.

[@machdaddy6451]

That was very predicable. The Tesla beat the Corvette like a drum. Anyone can drive an EV vehicle to its best ET consistently, where as an ICE vehicle takes experience and technique. EVs have instant torque and don't interrupt power because they don't shift.

[@boosted_brody5474]

Tell "Victor" he needs to work on that Vette 😂

[@DannyO0917]

495 horsepower bone stock c8 runs 11.2 Brand new ZR1 advertised to run less than 10 second quarter mile with 1068 horsepower. Twin turbo, 1200 horsepower c8 on carwow runs 11.0. Anybody else see anything wrong with this? I'm pretty sure that c8 twin turbo was only making an extra 5 horsepower on boost not 1200 horsepower

[@hotshotsunnyz]

I'm not sure how they measured 1200 hp on c8?

[@paullees5705]

I'm guessing that the C8 was being held back by the tuner. So as to not have his car damaged by a couple of KZbin guys. Probably only developing 650hp on the day.

[@POLLUSKY]

Cant wait to see the all wheel drive corvette

[@terrycooper4149]

How about a 200 mile race?

[@mychelelderd5936]

How is a "misfiring" 1200hp c8 11.2 seconds 1/4 mile when the stock 495 c8 does it in 11.9?

[@bigredracingdog466]

What the hell is up with that Stingray? A stock one does 11.5. How is a 1200 hp one only doing 11.0?

[@sc2603]

How about a race from NY to LA my money is on the Vette

[@marioferretti5431]

The tune is wrong, 1,200 hp is not running 11's. And the driver pretends he doesn't know what drag radials are and why they are on the car? Horrible outing.

[@luciferus74]

This corvette supposed to have 1200hp, this is not possible. Standard Corvette accelerate 0-400m in 11.2 sec with STANDARD TYRES. This thing accelerate 0-400m in 11.0 second with DRAG TYRES... Well something here is weird. Even the Hp are 900 it should do at least 10.4 sec from 0 to 400m

[@dpfitforlife81]

The standard C8 Corvette Stingray can do the quarter mile in 11.5 seconds approximately. Not sure why this Corvette can only beat a standard Corvette by a few tenths of a second and Z06 with 670 hp have a quarter mile time around 10.5 seconds. Something is not right here.

[@throttleblipsntwistedgrips1992]

Thats cute. Now run that tesla against a 4x4 diesel with the boost turned up to 50.

[@money_master_1517]

Radio tires need to be prepped. The racer wasn’t fair.

[@Landroverscout]

Lights and a count to ten and that cool sounding corvette still looses

[@jayjb833]

Don’t let a shift for u .. u shift that corvette

[@MsAMICHY]

That plaid is a ROCKET

[@RealWorldHustlerTRW]

Did anyone else think the dude driving in the plaid looks and sounds drunk??? His eyes are off like they both don’t point the same direction. Like a lazy eye or cockeyed. Except based on his speech and eyes combined he seems drunk AF

[@kevinchristie3225]

the tesl Plaid is the greatest quarter mile car made. Any person regardless of skill can run low nines.

[@88wolffy]

Oil leaks and turbos are a really bad combo. Pretty dumb to continue the race, but the C8 is badass. The Tesla can go sink in the lake somewhere.

[@scooterooservice92]

Wtf did I just watch? brake testing with runners on the front? no way on earth that car has 1200hp, like why make this shit up?

[@gamerguy-dq5sf]

It's not a prepped road guys stop yapping about the corvette stats being wrong.

[@Ziggyziggy1]

That was such a miss match! What's the point of that corvette having 1200 hp which feels like 120 hp!

[@eh9692]

Corvette is a road race cat not a drag strip racer, put the tesla in a 300 mile race and see what happens

[@Socialjusticewarriorsaretrash]

That vette is fuel cutting really bad. Good way to melt the rings on that thing. That vette does make 1200 when fuel isnt cutting. I wouldn't of kept running it.

[@russellm7530]

I don't really understand. I know Tesla's are supposed to be fast but id think a 1200 hp Corvette would have done a little better than that.

[@khaledagha4548]

11.2 seconds tells me all I need to know - this is not tuned right at all. twin turbo Kit should be doing 8-9 seconds

[@ziggyortiz37]

No way in hell it’s making 1200hp. Has LOTS of ignition break up! Whoever tuned that needs to never tune again. I could make it push 1200

[@PsalmFourteenOne]

*That Corvette needs to refined tuner and a more tuned driver* 😂 1200 HP and 11 seconds? People are buying F-150 "work trucks" with a coyote 5.0 and 4WD and getting into the 9's with a supercharger and a decent tune.

[@henry247]

For a moment i thought this was Fueltech's C8

[@thenothingkiller5341]

Imagine all the Tesla's being hacked and smashing into a wall at top speed.🤔

[@2AKratos]

Do a 1/2 mile race

[@jz261]

Power is useless when you can't put it down. Tesla knew this which is why they programmed an algorithm so the wheels don't spinn during launch.

[@jagathwal9444]

This has to be the most pointless drag race in the history of CarWow. A RWD C8 is never going to give even a "stock" Tesla Plaid a serious challenge, let alone a tuned one!

[@easyamp123]

I just watched a 2019 zr1 with the hpe1200 upgrade do the 1/4 @8.97, it's on youtube. Granted it's on a drag track, but this vette has a problem.

[@LostNCyberspace]

Impressive for sure. Now I’d be interested to know what the battery level was after all of this. You could take the Corvette down and top the tank up and drive it 500 miles. How long to recharge the Tesla after all of this? The Tesla is definitely awesome off of the line

[@RayInColorado]

Tesla was in the next zip code before the chevy knew what happened.

[@bigolbootycheeks9138]

So a 490hp C8 does the 1/4 in 11.2... a 1200hp C8 does the 1/4 in 11.0. Once that car makes 7500hp, it should run low 10s. 😅 Really though, that thing needs to be sorted out, badly. Cause that thing should be sooooo much quicker.

[@jsieg1]

Stock c8 runs 11.2 in the quarter and this 1200hp runs 11.0. Let us know who the tuner is so we don't take our cars there lmao

[@Rodger16]

Homie was slipping big time but I think that even with true 1200HP it’s a great roll race

[@jafferm1938]

vette was on wastegate and misfireing badly lol. you can hear that it sounds like its on 6 cylinders. vette was MAYBE making 600 whp lol

[@ChevyChev-fj5sr]

EXACTLY

[@RayKombucha-ry3wt]

The Vett is broken $80,000 for 0.2 seconds and a destroyed engine.

[@Dracula1972]

😂😂😂😂 you have to consider the driver also may be the problem