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Another week, another drag race with our long-term 2020 Tesla Model Y Performance. Over the past few months, you've seen the Model Y drag racing the BMW X3, Porsche Taycan, Chevy Corvette and Jeep Trackhawk. This time out, we've brought along another car from our long-term fleet, the 2020 Ford Shelby GT500.

[MUSIC PLAYING] CARLOS LAGO: Another drag race. Another attempt for the GT500. We've had trouble launching this car on this strip as you've no doubt documented on our YouTube comments. But we're going to give it a go and use this video to explain why. First off though, next to me is Alistair in the Tesla Model Y. Hi, Alistair. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Hi, Carlos. I don't remember any horrible comments about my driving in a GT500. CARLOS LAGO: You block them all out? ALISTAIR WEAVER: So this time, I'm in the Tesla, which in theory should be super easy. This is part of our Edmunds long term test fleet. It's a Model Y Performance, performance as we affectionately call it, it's a performance with the performance pack on it. All wheel drive, fully electric. On paper at least, it shouldn't be a match for the GT500. But in the real world, especially when it's cold and windy like it is here at Willow Springs, I think it could be a bit closer than you might think. CARLOS LAGO: Yeah, that's really the question, isn't it? This GT500 is also in our long term test fleet. It costs about $80,000 as equipped. That Model Y Performance performance was about $70,000. And though that Model Y doesn't have launch control, you just hit the go pedal and go, this does. But it also has 760 horsepower, which is certainly more than the Model Y, but half the number of drive wheels here. So the challenge is actually getting this car off the line on a street surface that hasn't been prepared. We know this car's faster. We've tested it. But actually getting those results in the real world is really difficult. And here we want to see what happens. ALISTAIR WEAVER: But before we get into racing, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. It helps us create more films like this. And if you're looking to sell your car, head to edmunds.com/sellmycar and we can make you a cash offer for yours today. Great feature. On with the racing. CARLOS LAGO: So the GT500 should win this race. If everything goes right, it will win this race. The problem is getting everything right. This is a very complicated car to launch, needlessly so. It isn't just putting 760 horsepower down to the wheels. It's the launch control. It works, but there's a delay from the time that you release the brake to the time that the vehicle actually starts moving. So when our guy counts down 3, 2, 1, go, I'm going have to leave basically on one in order for the car to leave on go. That's the problem. Once this car hooks up though, which is sometime in second gear, maybe third, it should absolutely reel in that Model Y. It's just up to me to make sure I release the brake pedal at the right point in the countdown kind of like judging timing lights and a drag strip. ALISTAIR WEAVER: That's a muscle car. This is a family orientated compact SUV. But we know from past experience that that Shelby is difficult to launch off the line, whereas this has all wheel drive and oodles of electric motor thrust. Can I win? In theory, no. Will I win? Yeah, I might just. CARLOS LAGO: Alistair, I'm going to leave on one of go. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Carlos, I have one thing to say to that. SPEAKER 1: Drivers, 3, 2, 1, go. ALISTAIR WEAVER: It's just not funny. CARLOS LAGO: Can't hook. Can't hook. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Now you can all shout your YouTube comments to Carlos Lago. CARLOS LAGO: I just couldn't hook up. I didn't hook up until like partway through third gear. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Yeah I didn't really even build it up on with my left foot on the brake. I just kind of punched go like a golf cart. And it just went. CARLOS LAGO: So the thing is I actually got the timing on the launch right. I literally left it when he said one. And I moved as he said go. But there was just no grip, no grip at all. So I might try that again but actually try to pedal it a little bit just to make sure that it doesn't get caught up with all the electronics trying to manage traction. But God, that's embarrassing. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Are you using traction control? CARLOS LAGO: I'm using launch control. ALISTAIR WEAVER: But dialing down the RPM? CARLOS LAGO: Yeah. I've got launch control set to the lowest possible launch RPM which is about 1,200. And it's still no good. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Yeah that's what I did last time. And that seems to be the best way. But I've just been handing out all your social handles for the commentary. CARLOS LAGO: I give a shout out to any member of the GT500 community to come out to this surface and try to do it better in their car. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Do you know what? For how much you and I have been vilified for this, I think that would be-- I think that would be a lot of fun. That's a video I'd like to make. CARLOS LAGO: I also would like to encourage Ford to develop a more sophisticated launch control system that at least doesn't have a delay in it. ALISTAIR WEAVER: We'll bring the C8 Corvette and the Tesla and challenge all comers in their GT500. CARLOS LAGO: Right. For race two, I'm not going to try to drive better. I got the timing right for launch control. But there was just too little traction through first, second, and most of third gear in order to actually make use of that 760 horsepower. Alistair, that must have felt good from your perspective. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Yeah. I mean, I didn't even-- do you normally use your left foot on the brake pedal in this car? Or do you just boot it? Yeah, I was just booting it. Yeah, I mean it's great. But it's also kind of boring. It's kind of boring. I was almost like checking my WhatsApp. CARLOS LAGO: That's what the fart mode is for. Anyway, race two. Let's get on with it. SPEAKER 1: Drivers, we're going to race in 3, 2, 1. Go. ALISTAIR WEAVER: I think he got a better launch that time. CARLOS LAGO: Come on. Hook up. Hook up. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Just coming around, Carlos. About 113 at the end. We have measured the quarter exactly but-- CARLOS LAGO: This GT500 is hopeless off the line on a unprepped street surface. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Do you know what, though? I think that's what makes the car so much fun on a racetrack, the fact that it's just so easy to slide around and has such a kind of surfeit of power over grip and traction. So it's a double edged sword for me. CARLOS LAGO: I basically was trying to pedal it through first gear and then too much power over on the tires. I probably should have short shifted. Here's the thing. We know intellectually this GT500 is significantly faster to the quarter mile, quicker to the quarter mile than that Model Y. But actually getting to do that, actually making that happen in the real world, is so difficult to do that, effectively, that Model Y is faster. That's the real world. But what happens at the lab under ideal conditions at the Edmunds official test track? Well, with a good launch, the GT500 actually ties the Model Y Performance performance to 60 miles an hour. The two literally posted the same results. But after that, the GT500's extreme power sets in, evident by a quarter mile elapsed time. That's over half a second quicker and a trap speed that's 15 miles an hour higher. It did 130 in the quarter. That's insane. But now back to reality. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Those Brembo calipers look very cool when you're just driving along beside me there. CARLOS LAGO: I hear that even though your calipers say Tesla, they're actually supplied by Brembo. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Nobody actually makes a car. They just assemble it. CARLOS LAGO: So here's the thing. We know the Model Y is faster in a drag race. But we've got to do a roll race to show just how much more power this has than the Model Y. ALISTAIR WEAVER: So as a betting man, my money is now all on the Ford. CARLOS LAGO: I think I'm just going to do it in third gear. ALISTAIR WEAVER: I'm going to do it in first gear. CARLOS LAGO: Also, Top Gear for you. We're going to get to about 30 miles an hour, nail the gas pedal, or in this case, the accelerator pedal as we cross the start line, and then see who wins. I suspect I should win. ALISTAIR WEAVER: OK, 30 miles an hour. CARLOS LAGO: 760 horsepower, don't fail me now. ALISTAIR WEAVER: When we hit the cones. Ready, ready, ready, ready, and mash. CARLOS LAGO: It downshifted. Why did you downshift? Why did you downshift? Why did-- Oh, it's so frustrating. It downshifted into second gear even though it knew there was no traction in second gear. As soon as I accelerated, oh, that's so frustrating. ALISTAIR WEAVER: I wonder if you left all the stability control and the traction on, whether it would do that. CARLOS LAGO: That's just it, Alistair. It's all on. ALISTAIR WEAVER: That's a bit embarrassing then, really. CARLOS LAGO: It's all on. All the stability control is on. ALISTAIR WEAVER: This is supremely able to doing this sort of thing. But it's-- I don't see the joy of winning if you don't feel like a participant. CARLOS LAGO: Well, I don't see the point of participating if there's no chance of winning. And that's the case for the GT500 it seems. ALISTAIR WEAVER: It's never the taking part that counts. It's just not. It's not, children. I'm sorry. CARLOS LAGO: So the GT500 again loses another drag race because for reasons we've already shown. We're awful drivers. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Do you want me to have a go in the time that we've got left just to demonstrate that it's the car? CARLOS LAGO: There's certainly a risk there. ALISTAIR WEAVER: I don't think there's much of a risk really. CARLOS LAGO: Wearing my mask let's not get Alistair's cooties. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Feeling good, Carlos? CARLOS LAGO: Yes. Yes. So this is either going to go one of two ways. One, you're going to prove I don't know how to drive a GT500, or two, you're going to prove neither of us know how to drive a GT500. We're risking a lot to gain a little. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Yeah, but I'm sure YouTube will go easy on us. CARLOS LAGO: They always do. All right. Let's do this. SPEAKER 1: Racers. We're going in 3, 2, 1. Go. CARLOS LAGO: No hands. ALISTAIR WEAVER: I kid you not, I was kind of looking down to make sure that I had it in drive for the first half a second. It just didn't go anywhere. CARLOS LAGO: Yeah. That's that delay. For the record, I did 3/4 of that run without my hands on the steering wheel. This thing has autopilot, right? ALISTAIR WEAVER: It's a strange thing because it is kind of fun. But at the same time, it's also hugely frustrating. I guess the key thing is at least I feel like I'm driving. Oh yes. Carlos, I'm going to try something different. I'm not going to use launch control or anything. I'm just going to try and drive it off the line. CARLOS LAGO: Good luck. We're all counting on you. SPEAKER 1: Drivers, we're going to race in 3, 2, 1. Go. CARLOS LAGO: Bye, Mustang. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Short shifted. CARLOS LAGO: Bye. Bye. ALISTAIR WEAVER: That was better. That was actually better. I really feel the power doing it. That was marginally better. Just drive it off the line and then short shift. CARLOS LAGO: Marginally better still means second place. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Yeah, it didn't avoid a ritual humiliation. But it is, on this surface, maybe that's the way forward. Anyway boys and girls, big lesson is here this thing is an extremely difficult thing to get off the line. 760 horsepower, cold weather, dusty surface, rear wheel drive, not the best combination when up against full EV, all wheel drive, two motors, and Carlos Lago, obviously. CARLOS LAGO: Yeah. I was going to say, don't forget bad drivers. ALISTAIR WEAVER: Awful. Abysmal drivers. CARLOS LAGO: Literally the worst in the industry. [MUSIC PLAYING]