Hellcat Driver Who Lost Drag Race To Tesla P85D Ready For Rematch

Last month, a Tesla Model S P85D electric car stormed silently to a drag-race victory over a 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, and became the talk of the Internet.

The 691-horsepower all-wheel drive luxury sedan easily outpaced the Hellcat and its 707-hp supercharged V-8 through the quarter mile--proving the potency of the Tesla's electric powertrain.

MORE: Tesla P85D Destroys Dodge Challenger Hellcat On Dragstrip: Electric Car Thrashes 707-HP Hemi (Video)

The Hellcat driver apparently took that defeat to heart.

He's been practicing his drag-race launches--he muffed it in the race captured on video--and fitted his Challenger with better tires, according to Road & Track.

The new Nitto NT555R rear tires are reportedly among the most aggressive street-legal drag radials available. At 305 millimeters wide, they're also 30 mm wider than the stock rear tires of a Challenger Hellcat.

Tesla Model S drag-races 2015 Dodge Challenger Palm Beach Intl Raceway, Hellcat, Jan 2014 [YouTube]

In his race with the Tesla, the Hellcat driver badly botched his start.

With practice, his Challenger has since recorded a 10.8-second quarter-mile time at 127 mph--matching Dodge's own estimate for the car when equipped with drag radials.

That's quite an advantage over the 11.6 seconds and 114-mph trap speed of the Model S P85D in the original race.

Then again, Dodge also claims the Challenger Hellcat will run an 11.2-second quarter mile on its stock tires--so the muscle car should have had an advantage in the first place.

Yet while the Hellcat may be the faster car on paper, the Model S will likely always be easier to drive fast.

Tesla Model S P85D, 2015 Detroit Auto Show

The instantaneous torque of electric motors, plus all-wheel drive and more sophisticated computer controls make launching the Tesla a relatively straightforward operation.

On the other hand, the Hellcat's power needs to be carefully managed to avoid overpowering the rear tires.

DON'T MISS: Why I Had To Trade My Tesla Model S For A Brand-New P85D

The Hellcat driver clearly didn't do that properly in the first race--delivering the Model S a major victory.

One thing that wasn't specified: Was the P85D driver using the "Insane" mode, or just regular acceleration?

Now that the Hellcat driver has more practice, we bet that rematch is coming.

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