Drag Race: Porsche 911 Turbo S vs. Tesla Cybertruck Cyberbeast

The 911 Turbo S seeks to avenge the Tesla Cybertruck drag race propaganda video.

As part of the Tesla Cybertruck reveal Tesla produced a video showing the high performance Cyberbeast model winning a drag race against a Porsche 911 while the Tesla was towing a 911. The video was a sensation and has been viewed nearly 3 million times as of today. But as usual with Tesla, the reality does not quite match what is being portrayed. The video is meant to insinuate that this race is over a quarter mile. It is actually an eighth mile. And there are some other things in the video that don’t quite seem to add up. However, there is no denying that the Cybertruck Cyberbeast is an extremely quick truck. But can it really beat a 911 in a straight up drag race?

That is what the folks over at Throttle House wanted to know. And what better way than to simply line up the Tesla pickup next to a 911 on a drag strip and see which vehicle gets to the quarter mile first? The Tesla in this race will have an advantage over the one in the Tesla drag race video. This time the Cybertruck is not towing another car. That obviously will help it tremendously. But Porsche also gains an advantage this time around. In the Tesla video the 911 used appears to be a base model Carrera or perhaps a Carrera T. But in this race, the Tesla has to go up against the big boy 911 Turbo S.

The Vehicles

Neither of these vehicles really need any introduction. The 992 Turbo S spits out 640 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. This power is sent to all four wheels and the Turbo S is one of the quickest accelerating gasoline powered cars you can buy today. The Cybertruck Cyberbeast makes a whopping 845 horsepower, and because Tesla likes to be obtuse and calculate torque differently than just about everyone else, they claim a 10,296 wheels torque. The Tesla weighs nearly twice as much as the 911 and it of course uses electric motors. The two vehicles are as different as chalk and cheese.

Drag Race

There are not many vehicles in the world that can out launch a 911 Turbo S, but the Cyberbeast does just that. At the start of the race, it leaps ahead of the Porsche by about a full car length. But once the advantage of that instant torque from the electric motors is spent, the Turbo S begins to reel in the Cyberbeast quickly. The Porsche then simply walks the Tesla from that point on. The boys then try a roll race and the results are nearly identical. The Tesla jumps in the lead and the Porsche reels it in.

Takeaways

In a short race the Tesla is the champ, but anything a quarter mile or longer the Porsche will win easily. Still, even the Porsche diehard must admit that this is an impressive feat for the Cyberbeast. For something that big, heavy, and aerodynamic as a brick to beat a 911 Turbo S off the line is astonishing. EVs have an acceleration advantage over gas vehicles, and this illustrates it clearly. Of course, that being said, we would still take the 911 Turbo S every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

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Joe Kucinski

Joe has been obsessed with cars since he got his very first Matchbox toy in the ‘70s. In 2003, he found a new obsession in track days that led to obtaining his SCCA competition license in 2015. In 2019, he became a certified driving instructor for the National Auto Sport Association. His love for all things four wheels has never wavered, whether it's driving some of the best cars in the world on the racetrack, tackling 2,000-mile road trips in 2-seat sports cars or being winched off the side of a mountaintop in a Jeep. Writing for the suite of Internet Brands Auto Communities sites, including Rennlist.com, Ford Truck Enthusiasts, 6 Speed and more allows him to share that knowledge and passion with others.