The Tesla Model S has to be one of the greatest engineering marvels in modern automotive history. A full size luxury sedan with about 691 horsepower and an enormous torque curve, makes this electric sedan a true contender against any sports car.

Although the secrets of how the Model S achieve exotic car numbers is a highly guarded secret by its creators. The 

instantaneous torque delivery provided by the electric motors means that turning the rear tires into smoke is easily done with the traction control system in the off position. Recently, at a Formula Drift Japan event, a Tesla Model S was put into the hands of a former drifting champion Nobuteru Taniguchi to answer the question, “Will it drift?” For those that are unfamiliar with the Formula Drift series, it is a racing series where professional drivers slide their specially prepped vehicles on a preset course consisting of various turns and hairpins earning style points.

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When you really think about electric cars, you only imagine that they are made for eco-friendly tree huggers that do not care about the horsepower figures or 0-60 times. Prior to Tesla’s debut, these views were pretty much correct. There were very few limited fully electric vehicles available to the consumers and none with the engaging driving dynamics of the Tesla. Tesla has disproven this myth and also solved the range issues that have shadowed fully electric vehicles since their inception.

The major factors when purchasing a $100,000 car is that it must be fun to drive, and that aspect was proven when Taniguchi took the Model S around the track during the opening ceremony of a Formula Drift event. Surprisingly, the hefty electric sedan did well around the track creating a lot of tire smoke and some good angle, despite spinning out a couple of times. He reported, with a steering angle kit and some tweaks, the Model S can be drifted just as well as other cars. The low center of gravity also assisted in the handling of the car around the track. Check out the video to the Model S as it showoff it’s tire-destroying capabilities.