There is no doubt that the Tesla Model 3 is a quick car. Thanks to the instant torque provided by its electric motors, even the vehicle’s most conservative variant — the Mid Range Model 3 RWD — boasts acceleration that’s in the same ballpark as entry-level muscle cars like the 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost. The Model 3 Performance, the electric car’s top-tier variant, is almost uncannily quick with a 0-60 time of 3.3 seconds. That’s closing in on supercar territory.
Since the Model 3 started rolling off the Fremont factory en masse, the number of drag racing videos showcasing the electric sedan has risen. As owners of the vehicle quickly found out, after all, the Model 3 shares a lot of the DNA present in its two larger siblings — the Model S and the Model X — which means that they are a force to be reckoned with on the drag strip. So far, though, the vast majority of Model 3 drag races that could be found online involve the vehicle’s Performance version.
What has mostly been elusive are drag races involving the Model 3’s mid-tier variant — the regular, non-Performance AWD. Just like the Performance version, the regular Model 3 AWD is equipped with dual motors. The vehicle is quite quick on its own right too, with a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 145 mph. Starting at $53,000 before options such as Autopilot, it could almost be said that the non-Performance Model 3 AWD is the most bang-for-your-buck, if not a tad bit underrated, trim of the electric sedan.
While races involving the regular Model 3 AWD are pretty rare, one of YouTube’s auto-themed channels, 7zerex, has shared what could very well be the juiciest collection of drag races featuring the non-Performance Model 3 AWD to date. In the video, a white Model 3 AWD could be seen challenging a number of formidable opponents, including muscle cars like Ford Mustangs and tuned imports like the Subaru Impreza. One run even involved a battle with what appeared to be a classic tuned Nissan Skyline GTR.
As could be seen in the video, the non-Performance Model 3 AWD haunted its opponents, beating each one off the line and pulling hard until the end of the 1/8 mile. Also notable in the drag races’ results were the consistency of the Model 3’s results. In each of its races, the electric sedan was able to complete its runs in the low 8s. That’s not too far from the results of the Model 3 Performance, which usually runs the 1/8 mile in the mid-7s.
That said, the victories of the Model 3 AWD are quite understandable. The vehicle, after all, was competing in a drag racing meet organized by RaceLegal.com, which is held at the SDCCU Stadium in San Diego, CA. As noted by the race’s organizer on its website, it only hosts 1/8-mile races for now due to constraints in track length. For a vehicle with instant torque like the Model 3 AWD, these short races are practically tailor-fit. Had the races been longer, some of the electric sedan’s rounds against its opponents might have ended differently.
Nevertheless, for a non-Performance version of the Model 3, a night spent decimating muscle cars and tuned imports is not too bad at all.
Watch the non-Performance Model 3 AWD’s drag races in the video below.
