Lucid v Tesla Drag Race, ‘One More’ Shows Why Time Is Money

After all, if it worked so far, who are we to say we can do better and even possibly reach a level where there is no difference between the two competitors? After all, that’s the beauty of it: the unexpected, the unpredictability of the end result. However, a good part of that uncertainty was gone with the winds of change when EVs moved in, and internal combustion engines had to concede temporary defeat in the face of this formidable new enemy.

But the merciless wheel of time does not stop turning, and now EVs are going at each other’s throats like there is no tomorrow. Well, when I say ‘EVs,’ I mostly mean Tesla because that’s the winning name in the quarter-mile tag game. Especially the Model S Plaid, the enemy of almost all things piston (except those beasts with thousands of horses under their hoods and an equal volume pile of cubic dollars stuffed in the speed parts).

Tesla is infuriating for several reasons. First of all, his electricity is an unmistakable news of change. Then there’s the price: a sub-$100k car capable of beating rivals ten times the price (or even more). Finally, there is architecture. Typically, drag racing cars (especially those with low ET expectations) have a limited number of doors, seats, and kilograms (or pounds, for the limitless world of Planet Speed).

Good luck finding another factory-built family sedan to haul groceries and kids to and from school and make the 1,320-foot dash in nine seconds. Well, fortune favors the bold; for now, there’s a new kid on the block, and it’s going after Lucid’s revenge-minded Model S Plaid.

That’s right; Lucid Sapphire is the new name to beat after demolishing the venerable champion Tesla as if the old apostle of electric cars was running on solar power at midnight. Play the video below and watch Brooks Weisblat come out DragTimes drive the Tesla S Plaid against the 1,234-hp Lucid at Bradenton Motor Park in Florida.

I won’t bore you with the details, but I will leave the numbers involved. The Lucid is heavier (5,336 lbs v 4,830 lbs / 2,417 kg v 2,188) and more powerful than the Tesla (1,234-hp vs 1,020 hp / 1,251 PS v 1,034 PS). That’s 510.55 bhp/ton on the Sapphire versus 466.18 bhp/ton on the Tesla. Torque is also a plus for the Lucid: 1,430 lb-ft (1,939 Nm) is not in the same timecode as Elon Musk’s peak performance of 1,050 lb-ft (1,424 Nm).

Image: YouTube/DragTimes

That’s why Lucid put three car lengths between its taillights and the front bumper of the S Plaid when it crossed the finish line at 153.61 mph (247.15 kph), more than four miles per hour faster than the Tesla (149.56 mph / 240.64 kph.

Times? 8.965 seconds and 9.288 seconds, respectively. In EV circles, that can be measured in sundials. After all, one doesn’t pay a quarter of a million dollars to a Lucid just to win ‘a few times’ against an $88,000 drag racing champion. The only things a Lucid owner needs to upgrade are the larger rearview mirrors to see the Tesla trailing behind.