It turns out that if you take away the P85D’s standing start advantage and race it against a stock BMW M4…the following two things will happen.
First, all that instant torque will only prove useful only for a few seconds, before the M4 starts pulling away. And second, the owner of the P85D will have to ask for a rematch and insist on a standing start in order to nurse his ego back to life.
By now, you know how these things go. The Tesla Model S P85D darts off the line like its life depended on it, while the other car goes through the motions (literally) before it starts making up ground.
In fact, most times the non-electric car will win, if it’s quick enough on its own – and the BMW M4 certainly is. You don’t get to be who you are if you can’t out-muscle a car that is fearful of rolling starts whenever it has to drag race.
Also, with 431 PS at its disposal and a 4.1 second 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time, the M4 is rarely afraid of anything with more than two doors.
Of course, after you dispatch the Tesla, you probably need to ignore its owner whining about how you’re the coward for not accepting a standing start.
If that does happen, tell him that you’ll do the standing start, if he agrees to race you from 0 to 250 km/h (155 mph), and no less.
In other words, give yourself room to win.