I know you think you understand just how fast these cars are, but that's by the numbers.
Nothing can prepare you for the g-forces they pull in a straight line.
Not even throwing yourself out of a plane (which we'll do later!) 😈
In the meantime, I'm going to do my best to put their speed into perspective using a benchmark you know well: the fastest sedan in the world from 20 years ago.
So how about we race the E39 BMW M5 against the Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance and the Tesla Model S Plaid...
...and we'll give the BMW a teeeeeeeensy little advantage.
Okay, actually it's a huge advantage. [He lied to us!]
It's a highway-speed advantage!
That M5 will be doing 70 mph when it flies across the start line and floors it.
So let's see what happens over the next 1320 feet.
[Jason, looking suave and stupid.] Place your bets!
[JASON CAMMISA'S ULTIMATE DRAG RACE REPLAY]
[Vintage E39 BMW M5 Commercial]
Nothing explains the E39 M5 better than this commercial.
When the M5 dropped in 2000, it wasn't just fast.
It showed its taillights to every sedan ever built... and most sports cars, too.
Keep that in mind as you watch these two silent killers prepare to show the M5 who's boss.
And here it comes: at 70 miles per hour, V-8 screaming.
The second the M5 passes the Lucid and Tesla, its driver will mat the pedal...
...cracking open eight independent throttles (ITBs!) and starting the race.
[Hahahahaha zzzOMG did you see that M5 fly by!?]
[M5 rev limiter sound effects added for drama because ICE 4 Life.]
Oh, come on! Again?!?!
I'm starting to be convinced this car is never going to lose a drag race....
but really were you surprised?
1020 horsepower, plus Cheetah Mode, plus the sheer determination of 16 Elons...
[2021 Tesla Model S Plaid VBox Testing Results] 0-60 mph = 2.1 sec 1/4 mile = 9.3 sec @ 152 mph
The Tesla Model S Plaid is going to win every time and I personally find that a little boring.
What I don't find boring, however, is that! [Sploosh]
The E39 M5 redefined what a fast sedan meant when it was new, and it's still fast today.
That's about as fast as a Honda Civic Type R.
...and by the way it was [only*] doing 118 mph when it crossed the line... [ *Ignore this word. Your presenter is a moron and he don't talk good.]
[2000 BMW M5 (E39) Roll-Race Results] Starting speed 70 mph 1/4 mile = 9.5 sec @ 118 mph
...and yet it still got beaten by the Tesla. [Sure do sound better tho amirite?]
Imagine: you're in a really fast car like, oh I dunno, an E39 M5....
...and you're speeding... [Unlikely, we know.]
...and you're in 3rd gear, matted, accelerating right past a cop hiding on the side of the road in a Tesla Model S Plaid.
The second you blow by him, he puts down his donut, floors it, and within one-quarter of a mile...
...not only does he catch you, but he slams into the back of your M5 going 35 mph faster than you are.
That, my friends, is the difference between today's fastest sedan in the world... [The Tesla Model S Plaid]
...and yesterday's fastest sedan in the world. [The 2000-2003 E39-chassis BMW M5]
[Pronografic V-8 noizes y'all.]
...and then there's the Lucid, which is a posh luxury car that just happens to be fast. [And incredible all-around. You should really watch my full ICONS video on this car.]
...but luxury also happens to be heavy, and the Lucid Air weighs 500 pounds more than the Tesla Model S Plaid.
VBox Testing Results: 2022 Lucid Air Dream Edition P 0-60 mph = 2.6 sec 1/4 mile = 9.9 sec @ 143 mph
The Lucid has 1111 horsepower and it doesn't have air suspension, so it can't do the Cheetah Mode...
...so ultimately the Tesla is quicker off the line — and then keeps pulling.
Gaining on it by about a tenth of a second every 10 mph.
Still, the Lucid Air bangs off a 0-60 in 2.6 seconds.
The Air is the second quickest accelerating sedan in the history of the world.
The Lucid Air would leave a Porsche Taycan Turbo S for dead. [Taycan Turbo S 1/4-mile: 10.5 sec @ 130 mph]
By the way it may be behind the M5 at the 1320-foot mark, but 0.2 later, it blows right by it. [Not shown, the EVs had to get on the brakes, hard, for the first corner, given how fast they were going. The M5 didn't.]
Here's the punchline: that thing uses less electricity than a Nissan Leaf! [I'm talking EPA MPGe numbers, a 3rd-party objective test.]
The Lucid Air uses 1/8th the energy of the M5 [in standardized testing] while [being able to make] three times the power. [He's an idiot. It was late in the day. The sun was setting on our set, just like it's setting on his career.]
What a world! [Rare moment of Jason Cammisa being happy.]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know electric cars have redefined what quick means but it's about time we find something else that's silent... [but deadly?]
..but can finally dethrone that pesky Tesla. [Oh. Yawn.]
How about gravity? [Oh, these people are twisted.]
Let's see who covers a quarter mile quicker...
[Pilot] Cruising altitude 1320 feet.
[Cammisa, in the morning, before coffee] Three... two.... one....
[The cars launch at exactly the same time Max Splatterson is thrown out of the plane.]
[Yes, thrown. Homicide is PG-13. Suicide would make this video Rated R. We're twisted, not stupid.]
[Max, screaming because his chute didn't open. Oops?]
Aaaand BOOM! ....BOOM! .....splat.
Gahhhdammit! [Oh now he feels remorse, huh?]
The Tesla wins again! [Oh wow, guess not.]
This time, it beat a guy falling out of a plane without a parachute.
And to add insult to (fatal) injury, he was at his terminal velocity.
Those two cars kept accelerating to their (respective) top speeds.
He maxed (get it?! Max?) out at a drag-limited 129 mph. [Lame.]
1/4 mile testing results: 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid = 9.3 sec @ 152 mph 2022 Lucid Air Dream Edition P = 9.9 sec @ 143 mph Fictional Skydiver: 10.7 sec @ 129 mph 2022 Rivian R1T Launch Edition: 11.6 sec @ 111 mph 2022 Ram 1500 TRX: 12.2 sec @ 110 mph 1991 GMC Syclone: 13.3 sec @ 97 mph 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor 14.2 sec @ 94 mph
By the way, does it need to be said that no skydivers were hurt in the filming of this video? [Probably.]
How could he be hurt? He was killed instantly. Duh. [Facts.]