In a recently published YouTube video, Hagerty races the world’s fastest sedans against each other by pitting the Tesla Model S Plaid against the Lucid Air and BMW E39 M5, with the latter being “the fastest sedan in the world… from 20 years ago.”
For an even playing field, the BMW E39 M5 starts the 1/4 mile drag race at a whopping 70 mph, whereas the two electric contenders start from a complete stop.
The Model S Plaid handily overtook the BMW, despite its 70 mph head start, and went on to win the drag race with a 9.3-second 1/4 mile with a trap speed of 152 mph. And that’s not even the Model S Plaid’s best — back in November of last year, the all-electric luxury sedan pulled an 8.99-second 1/4 mile at 155 mph.
“I’m starting to be convinced this car will never lose a drag race,” said Jason Cammisa, an automotive journalist and the host of the fun and creative video.
Check out the full drag race in the video below:
The Lucid Air finished in last place — not surprising, given we’ve seen the Model S Plaid dominate it in drag races before. The Lucid Air did go on to overtake the BMW shortly after the 1/4 mile, and it is still quicker than the more expensive Taycan Turbo S from Porsche.
Cammisa described the Lucid Air as “a posh luxury car that just happens to be fast.” Even though the Lucid Air delivers slightly more power than the Model S Plaid at 1,111 horsepower, it is 500 lbs heavier than the Plaid.
Hagerty also raced the Model S Plaid and the Lucid Air against gravity. Both EVs ran a 1/4 mile faster than a human free-falling through the atmosphere at terminal velocity.
