Lucid Sapphire Takes Down Tesla Plaid In Drag Race, Becomes The World’s Fastest Production Sedan   

The Tesla Model S Plaid and the Lucid Sapphire are two of the fastest-production sedans on the market today. But which one is faster? Going by each car’s specs, the Lucid Sapphire should be the quicker of the two. 

However, the only way to know which car is faster is to have them go head-to-head in a race, which YouTuber DragTimes decided to do. In the video, he and his fellow driver went head to head in a Tesla Model S Plaid and a Lucid Sapphire to see who would come out on top in a best-of-three-quarter mile drag race.       

The Lucid Sapphire 

The Lucid has around 3,000 miles, though DragTimes did not specify how much this mileage would affect its performance times. The Lucid Sapphire has three electric motors that generate a whopping 1,234 horsepower distributed to all four wheels. 

Despite its hefty weight of 5,336 pounds, the Sapphire is a fast-track toy that rips through the quarter mile in just 8.93 seconds while reaching a top speed of 154 miles an hour. According to DragTimes, the Lucid Sapphire can also rip from 0 to 60 in just 1.77 seconds. 

All four Sapphire tires are Michelin Pilot 4Ss, with the rear tires being 21 inches and the front tires 20 inches. The video specifies that the Lucid Sapphire in this drag race cost $250,000.  

The Tesla Model S Plaid 

While the Lucid Sapphire is impressive, the Tesla Model S Plaid is no slouch. While its quarter-mile time runs slightly behind the Sapphire’s at 9.2 seconds, the Plaid is still a deliriously fast car. According to YouTuber DragTimes, the Plaid can do a 0 to 60-second sprint in around 1.9 seconds at its best. 

In his video, DragTimes claims that Teslas run their peak performance times when new. So, luckily for any Tesla fans watching this race, the Plaid only has around 1,000 miles on it. The specs for the Tesla Model S Plaid in this video state it has three electric motors that send 1,020 horsepower to all four wheels. 

While the Plaid has 214 less horsepower than the Sapphire, it weighs less. According to the video, the Plaid weighs 4,830 pounds, whereas the Sapphire weighs 5,336 pounds. Will the Plaid, being over 500 pounds lighter than the Sapphire, make up for their difference in horsepower on the drag strip? 

Another noticeable difference between these two vehicles is their price tags. The Plaid in the video only costs $88,000, which is $162,000 cheaper than the Sapphire. For the $250,000 it costs to buy the Sapphire, someone could buy two Tesla Model S Plaids and still have $74,000 left over, which is almost enough to buy a third Model S Plaid. Like the Sapphire, the Plaid is riding on Michelin Pilot 4S tires. However, unlike the Sapphire, the Plaid has 21-inch tires on all four wheels. 

Racing To A Red Light  

The Plaid got off to a great start in the first race, getting ahead early and leaving the Sapphire behind. Unfortunately for Tesla fans, this did not count because the Plaid driver was antsy and launched the car while the start light was still red. So, Sapphire won the first race by default because Plaid was starting too soon.    

The Sapphire’s driver must have been edgy from the Plaid bolting off the line during the first race, which explains why they launched before the light was green at the start of the second race. So, the Plaid won the second race by default, meaning that the only real racing between these two speed demons happened in their third and final race.          

The Third Race 

Thankfully, both cars had clean starts this time. Unfortunately for Tesla fans, there was no contest between the Plaid and the Sapphire. The latter shot off the line to take an early lead, which quickly increased to the Sapphire being one and then two car lengths ahead of the Plaid.

Still, while the Plaid lost the competition, it posted an impressive quarter-mile time of 9.28 seconds, reaching a top speed of 149 miles per hour. The Sapphire, the plaid driver called a “rocket,” completed the quarter-mile run in just 8.96 seconds, reaching a top speed of 153 miles per hour.     

Every Fraction Of A Second Counts

Before pitting the Sapphire against the Plaid, DragTimes noted that the former had a distinct advantage, stating that while “anything can happen in heads-up racing…at least you’ll be able to see exactly what the difference is between an 8-second car and a 92 car, which actually is quite the difference.”

It’s a difference that DragTimes further noted when he Pointed at the Sapphire and said, “I can definitely tell you this thing ripping off 0 to 60 and 1.7 seconds is definitely noticeably different than the Tesla Plaid, which is lucky to drop into the 1.9 [0 to 60 seconds] range.” 

The third race made that fraction of a second difference very clear. Outside of having the perfect launch or getting a head start, it’s unlikely that the Plaid will ever be able to beat the Sapphire in a drag race like this. Maybe when Elon Musk unveils a new car powered by “rocket-y things,” Tesla will stand a chance.