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CarWow brings you yet another dual, and the results might surprise you
by Khris Bharath, on LISTEN 03:54Here is yet another drag race by CarWow: an Audi RS6 vs a Tesla Model X. Can the American-made EV hold it’s own against the Audi RS6? Let’s take a look and see what happens.
Audi RS6
In the green corner, we have an Audi RS6 with a 4.0 Liter Twin-Turbo V-8 that produces 600 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. It weighs in at 4,570 lbs. The Audi has Quattro AWD coupled to an 8 speed Auto. The Audi starts just shy of $110,000.
Tesla Model X
In the white corner, we have the last generation Tesla Model X Performance with dual motors, one at each end, and AWD. It is more powerful than the Audi with 778 horsepower with 840 pound-feet of torque for some ballistic launches. The Model X is far heavier than the Audi weighing in at 5,478 lbs. When new, this last-gen model was priced similarly north of $100,000
The power to weight ratio on the RS6 is 0.131 hp/lb whereas the Model X has a more punchy 0.142 hp/lb. This might be close.
With the numbers out of the way, let’s race.
The Drag Races
In the first one, the Audi got off the line well and had the lead briefly however, the Model X caught up and eventually went past. Surprisingly, it was not the launch that I expected from Tesla.
On their next go, the Model X just struggled and didn’t have launch control. So you can factor that one out.
With that, the cars lined up one last time for a third attempt. The hammer drops and both the Audi and the Tesla have a great launch. Its neck and neck pretty much to the line, but the RS6 just had the legs on the Model X and managed to get past in the end.
Both cars managed a standing quarter-mile of 11.2 seconds.
The Rolling Races
Both cars start from 30 mph. The Audi is locked in sports mode in 2nd gear. Three, Two, One…Go!!! And before you know, the Model X left the Audi in the dust, however as the speed builds, the RS6 managed to get past the Model X at 138 mph.
In the second rolling race, both cars start from 50 mph. The Audi is locked in third gear. When they set off, the Model X took off yet again, but this time, the Audi was closer and went past the Model X at 127 mph.
In the final rolling race, both cars set off from 70 mph and this time, it was even closer with the Audi taking it. It just goes on to show that once the speeds build, gas-powered cars do have a slight edge in performance over EVs.
The Brake Test
This one was a no-brainer really. The Tesla weighs significantly more than the Audi and it really shows when both cars slam the brake pedal for an emergency stop. The Audi has this one in the bag. But this test really was irrelevant.
In the Real World
Out and about in everyday scenarios, the Tesla would have probably won most of these duels between the lights. Each of these family haulers is cool in its own right. However, which one would you choose to put your kids in? Let us know in the comments below.
Watch the drag race here
