The Tesla Model X electric SUV beat a Lamborghini Aventador SV in a drag race arranged by DragTimes, setting a world record in the process.
All eyes from the electric vehicle industry are on the Tesla Model 3, the company's mass-market model that has started to roll of the production line. However, feats like this show that the Tesla Model X is still worthy of the spotlight.
Tesla Model X Outraces Lamborghini Aventador SV
DragTimes set up a head-to-head Tesla Model X vs. Lamborghini Aventador SV drag race at the Palm Beach International Raceway last week, pitting the electric SUV with one of the fastest cars offered by the Italian brand.
The Tesla Model X P100D won against the Lamborghini Aventador SV with the slimmest of margins, inching out a win by just 0.05 seconds. The electric SUV reached a top speed of 118 miles per hour and zoomed through the quarter mile in 11.4 seconds, a new world record for the fastest SUV at a quarter-mile race.
The feat is made more impressive by the fact that the Tesla Model X used for the drag race carried a price tag of $165,000 and is essentially a luxury family car, and even rated as the safest SUV ever. The Lamborghini Aventador SV, meanwhile is a hand-built sports car that costs more than triple at $530,000, with a 6.5-liter V12 engine, 750 horsepower, all-wheel drive, and a seven-speed single clutch transmission.
Are Electric Cars Faster Than Gasoline Sports Cars?
The electric Tesla Model X was able to beat the gasoline engine-powered Lamborghini Aventador SV because the full torque of the Tesla Model X was readily available from the start of the race, unlike the Lamborghini Aventador SV which had to get its engine up to the speed where maximum power is generated. The Tesla Model X also does not have to deal with gear changes, with these factors offsetting its heavier weight of 5,400 pounds compared to the weight of 4,200 pounds for the Lamborghini Aventador SV.
However, the price and appeal of the Lamborghini Aventador SV does not only take into account straight line speed, as it is an engineering masterpiece perfected by the decades of hard work put into the Lamborghini brand.
In addition, the quick acceleration of the Tesla Model X SUV resulted in a sizable head start that gave it the victory. If the race went over a longer distance, there was no doubt that the Lamborghini Aventador SV would have caught up and surpassed the electric SUV.
