Jay Leno 'breaks quarter-mile record' in Tesla Model S Plaid

Jay Leno claims he has run a record-smashing 9.2-second quarter mile behind the wheel of a new Tesla Model S Plaid.

Speaking on the Spike’s Car Radio podcast, the TV host and famed car enthusiast says he ran the time at the Famoso Bakersfield Raceway. “I made one pass,” recounts Leno. “I drove up, [I] had the NHRA guys there to make it official. I turned a 9.247@152mph (245km/h). It was unbelievable!”

Until now, the fastest time recorded by a Model S was 10.45@126mph (203km/h), which was achieved by Tesla after rolling out the 2020 ‘Cheetah stance’ update.

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Leno heaps praise on Musk’s work with the Tesla line, reminding the hosts he’s talking about “a four-door car with the air conditioner on.”

The manufacturer’s website lists the Plaid with a peak output of 1,020hp (761kW), with a top speed of 200mph (322km/h). The 2022 Plaid+ again ups power to 1100hp (820kW), which Tesla claims will be enough for eight-second quarter-mile times.

Tesla’s far from the only EV company to be aiming for big dragstrip numbers, with several competitors also recording sub-10-second time-slips. Upcoming rival marque Lucid has promised its Air model will run single-digit times, releasing footage of a prototype recording a 9.91@144mph (232km/h).

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Also in the running is the Drako GTE, which claims its 1200hp (895kW) output will make it faster than the Tesla. However, with a price tag of $US1.25million (AU$1.6m), it’s a decidedly different vehicle from the sub $US150,000 (AU$196k) Model S Plaid.

“Competition is great,” says Leno on the podcast. “But it seems like Tesla is ahead of everybody else when it comes to battery technology…everybody else seems like pretenders to the throne to me.”

The Model S Plaid is now available to order in Australia, with delivery estimated to take place between September and October.