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The Yamaha Banshee was no slouch when it was new. The sport quad was truly quick and offered the two-stroke snappiness and powerband that made it addictingly fun while feeling more powerful than it actually was. As is tradition in the ATV world, some people just can’t leave things alone, and Jonathan Martin went to the extreme with his 2004 Yamaha Banshee. Naturally, Hoonigan took the wildly modified four-wheeler and threw it in the ring against a noble competitor to duke it out for quarter-mile racer supremacy.
That competitor is a bone-stock Tesla Model S Plaid. The car is famous for being a straight-line monster right off the showroom floor. It has three electric motors that are good for 1,020 hp. This plus all-wheel drive makes for a car that can rip off nine-second quarter-mile runs with relative ease, even despite its 4,828-pound heft. Not many vehicles can keep up with the Plaid, but Hoonigan saw a formidable competitor for their “This vs. Plaid” series in Jonathan Martin and his J-Built Yamaha Banshee.
Obviously, the Banshee is far from stock to be able to keep up with the Tesla. Martin says the quad has the “heart of a Banshee,” but not much else. It’s a full dragster, lengthened 14 inches at the front and back with a fully custom frame. A 521cc engine sits where the stock 350cc unit once did, and the massive motor plus methane injection helps it make 130 hp to the original engine’s 43. And while there’s no suspension, the Banshee rings in at a lowly 265 pounds. It looks like a race machine, and certainly is.
Is the Banshee a match for the Plaid? See the video to find out.
