We’ve seen a lot of different cars take on the Tesla Model S Plaid on the drag strip and on rare occasions we’ve even seen motorcycles try to knock it off the top of the mountain. Only the fastest vehicles in the world have been able to smoke the four-door super-saloon though. Oh, and this Custom Yamaha Banshee that needed a little help but still deserves all the credit in the world.
That little bit of help is that these races have to be just 500-feet in total length. Why such a short track? Well, the Banshee is about as high-strung as a custom-built quad can get and if this race went any longer, the owner fears that it would “just lay over” or in other words flip. You know, the way old-school Banshees had a knack for doing.
That brings us to our next point though which is that to call this a Banshee isn’t totally accurate since really, the only bit of the Banshee that’s left is the motor. Of course, the stock Banshee made about 43-horsepower. This thing makes 130. Oh, and it only weighs 265-pounds. That’s a power to weight ratio of .5-horsepower per pound of weight everybody.
Take a quick look at the rest of the rig and it becomes quickly obvious that you need nerves of steel to ride this monster at speed. The seat is a single piece of flat carbon fiber and the only thing keeping the rider from flying off the back is a small steel loop that acts as a backrest.
The handlebars barely seem attached to the front tires which are themselves barely fatter than the rubber on my road bicycle. It’s enough though to edge out the Model S Plaid in one of three races though and it nearly beats the Tesla in all three. The final race is so close that only a slowed-down shot of the finish determines the winner.
Again, this is only a 500-foot race and anything longer would’ve seen an easy victory for the Tesla, but this little custom Banshee sure makes a case for itself with sheer brute force. Who of you in the comments would be willing to sit on that thing for a full quarter-mile? I sure wouldn’t.
Lead Image Credit: Hoonigan on YouTube
Keyword: Here’s The Sketchiest Way To Beat A Tesla Model S Plaid In A Drag Race