Today it is not car against a car or electric vs. internal combustion drivetrain — this drag race is between a Tesla Model 3 Performance vs. an electric snowmobile on a frozen lake in Finland — Tesla and electric vehicle evangelist Bjorn Nyland arranged this race using his Model 3 which he calls ‘MC Hammer’.
The electric snowmobile in this race is called the ‘eSled’ with a top speed of 95 km/h (59 mph) — the power of the electric sled around 100 hp and the total weight including the driver is around 350 kilograms (771 lbs) — while the Model 3 Performance is packed with around 490 horsepower and the total weight with the driver is around 1900 kilograms (4188 lbs), so the power to weight ratio in both vehicles is almost the same.
Bjorn’s Tesla Model 3 Performance is equipped with the snow tires vs. the electric sled which is purposefully built to perform on the icy and snowy terrains, the eSled being electric comes with benefits like zero-emissions and low noise pollution, it was built for eco-friendliness without compromising performance and agility, as the creators share their thoughts in the following video.
Yes, the snowmobile won all the drag race attempts, Tesla Model 3 Performance 0-60 mph in just 3.4 seconds but I guess that wasn’t true in such low temperatures, the batteries won’t warm up to provide full power and range in these conditions but still impressive as a car, the eSled has skis and track instead of tires that enable it to roll faster on the icy surface.
If Bjorn had used the Tesla Model 3 snow chains for the tires, the results might have been a little different than what we just saw, but I still think the winner would be the electric snowmobile, it’s its own uncharted terrirtory.