The van you see here might look like a junky 2001 Honda Odyssey, but it’s far more exciting. Underneath the panels sits the chassis, interior, and drivetrain from a Tesla Model S Plaid. Delightfully named the “Plaidessey,” it was built by the folks from the BoostedBoiz YouTube channel, and it’s capable of beating pretty much anything in a one-lap oval race.
The builders of the Plaidessey wanted to see how the van would stack up against some quick metal, so they brought it to the Freedom Factory, an oval track well known for its YouTuber ownership. Despite its unassuming body style, the Tesla-powered Honda is able to stomp a Tesla Model S and what looked to be a highly modified Audi in a head-to-head “spectator drag,” where to cars line up on the oval and race against each other for one lap.
Even with three motors and 1020 horsepower on tap, the Plaidessey isn’t invincible. The folks at BoostedBoiz meet their match when the owner of the Freedom Factory, the legendary Cleetus McFarland, pulls up alongside in his 991-generation Porsche 911 Turbo S. The car’s been modified with a few bolt-ons and more boost, suggesting it makes far more than the 580 hp it left the factory with.
McFarland and the Plaidessey race twice around the oval, and it’s the Porsche that takes the win both times. But the electric Honda-badged van puts up a good fight, coming within a car’s length of victory on the second run. We suspect McFarland’s experience on the track and the van’s rubbing bodywork likely had a lot to do with the outcome.
Hopefully this won’t be the last we see of the Plaidessey on the race track. With a few minor modifications we suspect it could perform even better.
