A quarter-mile drag race took place between a Tesla Cybertruck and a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle the other day, surprising many spectators with how close the two contenders ended up being. Then again, the Chevy received some unspecified “tuning upgrades”, so that could have played a major role.
In all likelihood, the truck seen in the video is a tri-motor Cyberbeast spec rated at 856 PS (845 hp / 630 kW). As for the Chevelle, we are guessing here, but the sports car used to come equipped with a giant 7.4-liter V8 back in its era. Modern builds taking advantage of that cylinder block routinely extract up to 610 PS (600 hp / 447 kW) out of it, so we’d expect something similar to be the case here as well.
The race could also use being more focused. Straight off the line, the Cybertruck driver somehow fumbles the launch while the coupe darts forwards, establishing a strong early lead. The truck then almost catches up with the Chevelle, but not enough – the video shows the classic car crossing the finish line first.
Based on the reported acceleration numbers and quarter-mile times, Elon Musk’s EV did an 11.39-second run reaching 191 km/h (118.6 mph). The Chevelle allegedly did an 11.69-second run and never exceeded 185 km/h (115 mph). This only goes on to show that the Cybertruck wasn’t really slower – its driver completely fumbled the start. That’s irrelevant in most drag racing competitions, though – whoever crosses the line first wins, simple as that. It’s not like anyone expected the Chevelle to be meaningfully slower than a huge stainless-steel brick on wheels, anyway.
