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] Tesla Model S drag-races 2015 Dodge Challenger Palm Beach Intl Raceway, Hellcat, Jan 2014 [YouTube]](https://images.hgmsites.net/lrg/tesla-model-s-drag-races-2015-dodge-challenger-palm-beach-intl-raceway-hellcat-jan-2014-youtube_100497812_l.jpg)
Tesla Model S drag-races 2015 Dodge Challenger Palm Beach Intl Raceway, Hellcat, Jan 2014 [YouTube]
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.
RELATED: 2014 Tesla Model S P85D: First Drive Of All-Electric AWD Performance Sedan
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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