(somber orchestral music)
(digital typing)
(intensifying orchestral music)
(intense electronic music) (heavy engine revving)
(car revving)
- Hey, Josh. - Hey, Jonny.
- How you doin', man? - Good, how are you?
- Thrilled to be here.
And you want to tell everyone watching
why you're wearing this fancy outfit?
- Absolutely.
I represent the United States Air Force
here at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
- And we're here at Vandenberg Air Force Base
because of your beautiful runway.
But what do you guys do at Vandeberg?
- We launch rockets.
- Okay, I can't compete with that.
But at Motor Trend, we launch cars.
And we're here at Vandenberg because this
is World's Greatest Drag Race Seven!
(engines revving)
(intense electronic music)
(cars revving)
- Welcome to 30th Space Wing, Jonny.
- Could you tell me about this fantastic runway
that we're standing on?
- You're at the Vandenberg Air Force Base runway.
It was built in the '70s for the NASA space shuttle
to actually land here, and it's 15,000 feet long.
- So it's the runway of my dreams.
But let me ask you this.
These days at Vandenberg, what's your mission?
- It is to land, launch, and also test any missiles
or downstages that we need to.
- Today at least, our mission is
to launch these 12 cars down your runway
as quickly as possible to figure out
which one is the winner.
Which one of these 12 do you think is going to win?
- I think the AMG will win.
- Solid choice.
Big, powerful car.
- I'll tell you which one won't win, though.
That's the Mazda down there.
- That's a very good point.
Hey, can we get that Miata out of here
and replace it with the four-door
five passenger family sedan?
(car revving)
(intense orchestral music)
- I see there's no one in the car.
- Okay.
Tech Sergeant, would you do us the honor
of starting the launch countdown for the
World's Greatest Drag Race?
- Absolutely.
- [Jonny] But first, let's meet this year's contenders.
Here's the first great Lexus coupe in a very long time,
the new V8-powered LC500.
This is the four-door, four cheese, Alfa Romeo Giulia
with a heart from Ferrari.
Aston Martin reinvents itself for a second century
with the lovely DB11.
AMG's beast from Green Hell is also known as GTR.
McLaren returns with a luxurious glass-roofed
grand touring car, the 570GT.
Maranello is in the house with the manic obviously-red
Ferrari 488 GTB.
The Tesla Model S P100D with Ludicrous Plus
is the quickest car we've ever tested,
to 60 miles an hour.
Let's see how it does in the quarter mile.
The Porsche 911 Turbo S launches so hard
the front wheels nearly come off the ground.
Godzilla has long been considered king of the quarter.
Let's see how this year's Nismo GT-R performs.
The Camaro ZL1 1LE is one of the most powerful cars
in the race, but can it put the power down?
The Porsche 718 Cayman S only has 350 horsepower,
though the quick-shifting PDK should help.
Somehow, someway, with only 460 horsepower,
the Corvette Grand Sport feels underpowered.
However, it is light.
Let's see how it does.
(intense dramatic music)
(cars revving)
- Begin launch sequence.
(cars revving)
T minus seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Go.
(intense dramatic music)
(tires screeching)
(cars roaring)
(engines shifting gears)
(dramatic silence)
(cars revving)
- Just like that, America is on top.
The California-built P100D,
the heaviest car in the race, wins it all,
once again demonstrating the inherent advantage
of electric motors when it comes to acceleration.
That said, the Porsche Turbo S and the Ferrari 488
were charging hard.
Had the race gone longer than a quarter mile,
they both would've beaten the Tesla.
Also coming fast was the McLaren 570 GT,
just a tick off the podium.
The GT-R shootout ends with the fifth place Godzilla
just edging out the sixth place AMG,
thanks primarily to the Nissan's all wheel drive advantage.
The 350 horsepower Cayman ties the 650 horsepower Camaro
to 60 miles an hour, but then the Chevy's
massive power advantage begins to take over.
(dramatic orchestral music)
The Grand Sport nearly loses the race,
illustrating how badly it could use more power.
The Lexus is last, and that's just fine.
(cars revving)
In the 68 years that Motor Trend's been testing cars,
the all-electric Tesla Model S P100D
is the hardest accelerating car we've ever tested.
It's a brave new car world out there,
and Tesla is the drag strip king
(car humming)
until next year.
(voices giving directions over microphones)
(car revving)