A 16-month-old thrashed family 7-seater has thoroughly beaten a racing car off the start line at the Highlands Motorsport track. The friendly race had professional drivers in both vehicles at the International Drive Electric Week event in Cromwell on Sunday.

It came as no surprise to the Tesla fans in the crowd, although I'm sure there were some doubts amongst others.

The Ferrari seemed to almost catch the Tesla as it reached the straight line finish, although some claim this may be because electric vehicles can slow just as quickly as they can take off.

The event was organised jointly by FlipTheFleet and the Dunedin EV Owners Group and proudly supported by #LeadingTheCharge.

Electric Vehicles are no strangers to racing, with the overall winner at Pikes Peak, an EV this year as well. Meanwhile, Formula-E is gaining in popularity with speeds becoming almost comparable to Formula One. This is especially so amongst the younger generations apparently because the format suits interactive crowd participation.  The #LeadingTheCharge campaigners are also no strangers to EV vs Petrol racing, with a similar race between a Tesla Model S squarely beating a McLaren supercar four times in a row at Ardmore track, even when the Tesla was carrying an especially great political guest.

There will be another EV track day shortly. This time in the North Island at Hampton Downs racetrack on 7 October, hosted by the Electric Vehicle Association of Aotearoa.

[Rachelle Tilsley - Better NZ Trust - 10 Sept 2018]