Jay Leno shatters $3m Bugatti Chiron’s world speed record in $129k Tesla: Speed freak TV host clocks quarter-mile in 9.2 seconds – making Model S Plaid the fastest accelerating car EVER built
- Jay Leno broke the Bugatti Chiron Sport’s quarter-mile speed record aboard the Tesla Model S Plaid in the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage
- The celebrity clocked in at 9.247 seconds, beating out the 9.4 second record
- Leno’s title of fastest production car driver was short-lived after Tesla’s professional driver broke the record later that day at 9.234 seconds
- Tesla touted the record through the car’s triple-motor engine
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Jay Leno made history when he broke the Bugatti Chiron Sport’s car quarter-mile speed record with a Tesla Model S Plaid, which has quickest acceleration of any car ever built.
On the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, teased by MSNBC on Wednesday, the car-obsessed comedian hopped into the $129,000 Tesla at California’s Famoso Raceway and set the new speed record at 9.247 seconds for a quarter-mile.
That beat out the Bugatti’s previous record of 9.4 seconds, set during a Car and Driver test of the $3m Italian hypercar late last year. Sadly for Leno, his record only stood for a few hours, with a Tesla specialist driver managing to shave the time down to 9.234 seconds shortly afterwards.
‘That was awesome,’ Leno said, celebrating the fact that he won the title of fastest production car driver. The Model S Plaid its Tesla’s top-of-the-range S
Jay Leno broke the Bugatti Chiron Sport’s quarter-mile speed record aboard the Tesla Model S Plaid in the newest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage
The celebrity hopped into the car and zoomed down the Famoso Raceway, in California
The run took just over nine seconds as Leno waited to hear if he beat the record
The comedian celebrated becoming the fastest production car driver in history
Tesla chief designer Franz Vol Holzhausen told Yahoo! Entertainment that the Tesla Model S Plaid’s secret was its triple-motor design.
‘This is tri-motor – two in the back, one in the front,’ Von Holzhausen said. ‘So all three motors are carbon-sleeve motors. It’s new, never been done before, invented by Tesla.
‘And that just allows you to have constant power until you run out of room or you run out of speed.’
The Tesla Model S Plaid ultimately beat out the Bugatti Chiron Sport’s quarter-mile record, which was set at the start of 2021, reported Car and Driver.
Tesla Model S Plaid
From 0-60mph: 1.99 seconds
Top Speed: 200mph
Horsepower: 1,020hp
Torque: 1,050 lb-ft
Price: $129,990
Tesla Model S Plaid
Bugatti Chiron Sport
From 0-60 mph: 2.4 seconds
Top Speed: 261mph
Horsepower: 1479hp
Torque: 1180 lbs-ft
Price: $3,710,850
Bugatti Chiron Sport
Unfortunately, Leno’s world record was short-lived after Tesla’s own professional driver took the car for a test drive later that day and set a new time of 9.234 seconds.
Although the celebrity was thrilled over the car’s impressive speed, he was disappointed about losing his title so quickly.
‘Come to think of it, I did have a meatball sandwich for lunch, and this professional driver can’t be more than 120 pounds soaking wet,’ Leno joked. ‘I mean, one hundredth of a second. Come on, I was robbed!’
Leno’s world record was short-lived when Tesla’s own driver beat his time by a fraction of a second
The Tesla Model S Plaid had previously set a world speed record for a production electric car at Nurburgring, a motorsports complex in Germany, in September.
The Tesla completed the run in 7:90.9 minutes, beating out the Porsche Taycan Turbo’s 2019 record of 7:42.9 minutes.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk added that the vehicle had been completely unmodified and came directly from the factory.
Electric cars like Teslas can accelerate far more quickly than traditional fuel combustion vehicles because the power their motors produce goes straight to the wheels.
In a gasoline-fueled car the same energy must also go through multiple other parts, including the gear box, making the car less efficient.
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