The numbers don't lie: the Tesla Model S Plaid does 0-60 in 1.99 seconds. That's faster than a Bugatti Chiron. Faster than a McLaren Senna. Faster than almost anything with an engine, a clutch, and a shifter.
So is the conversation over? Did EVs win performance?
Not quite. And the reason gets to the heart of what performance car enthusiasts actually value - which turns out to be more complicated than 0-60 times.
At Arizona Elite Motors, we're enthusiasts first. We carry what our buyers want, and we pay attention to where the market is genuinely going. Here's our honest take on where electric and gas performance cars stand in 2026.
What EVs Do Better
Let's be direct: there are performance categories where EVs are definitively superior, and pretending otherwise doesn't serve anyone.
Straight-Line Acceleration
The physics are real. Electric motors produce maximum torque from zero RPM. There's no power band, no rev-matching requirement, no clutch engagement window. You push the accelerator and every available newton-meter goes to the wheels immediately.
The Tesla Model S Plaid at around $90,000 is faster to 60 mph than cars costing three times as much with traditional combustion engines. The Rivian R1T - a pickup truck - does 0-60 in under 3 seconds. The Porsche Taycan Turbo S demolishes quarter-mile times that would have been unthinkable from a Porsche product 15 years ago.
If raw acceleration is your benchmark, EVs win. Full stop.
Consistency
An ICE performance car's launch control depends on tire temperature, ambient temperature, fuel quality, and driver skill. A high-horsepower gas car at a drag strip takes preparation - getting tire temp up, staging correctly, managing boost and grip in the first few feet.
An EV is ready to go every time, at every temperature, without warm-up. The 100th launch is as quick as the first. For track days that are about consistent lap times rather than maximum one-off effort, this consistency is a real advantage.
Torque Availability at All Points
In spirited road driving, the instant torque of an EV means that short bursts of acceleration - overtaking on a two-lane road, punching out of a corner, merging - are effortless in a way that even turbocharged cars can't fully match. There's no turbo spool time, no waiting for the engine to come on song.
Operating Costs
This is more market-conditions dependent, but electricity remains cheaper than premium gasoline per mile driven in most scenarios. High-performance EVs don't require oil changes, have fewer fluids, and regenerative braking extends brake life significantly. The Taycan's TCO (total cost of ownership) over five years is often competitive with the Cayenne GTS despite a higher purchase price.
What Gas Cars Still Do Better
Here is where the conversation gets more interesting - and where most EV marketing glosses over real tradeoffs.
The Experience of Sound
A great V8 - the LT4 in a C7 Z06, the S63 in an M5, the naturally aspirated 4.0L flat-six in a GT3 - is a musical instrument. The exhaust note at full throttle, the mechanical feedback through the drivetrain, the way the engine's character changes across the rev range: these are part of the performance experience in a way that direct-drive electric motors simply can't replicate.
Manufacturers have tried artificial sound generators. They universally feel like what they are. There is no EV that produces sound that generates the same visceral response as a proper gas performance car at full chat.
This matters to enthusiasts in a way that's hard to quantify but impossible to dismiss. A large portion of performance car ownership is about sensory experience, not just speed metrics. If you've driven a GT3 at 9,000 RPM or a supercharged V8 at full throttle, you know exactly what we're talking about.
Driving Engagement and Feedback
The best gas sports cars communicate with the driver through the chassis, the steering, the throttle response, and the gear selection in ways that form a conversation. The driver manages power delivery, picks the right moment to downshift, feels the front tires loading up in a corner - the car is a partner in the experience.
EVs tend to manage everything. The stability control, power distribution, and torque delivery are all software-mediated. This can produce extraordinary results in terms of outright speed, but it can also create a sense of distance between driver and machine.
This isn't universally true - the Porsche Taycan is notably more driver-focused than a Tesla in terms of chassis feedback and driver engagement. But as a category observation, gas performance cars have a 100-year head start in developing the language of driving communication, and most EVs are still learning it.
Track Range
This is a critical issue for serious track drivers that isn't talked about enough in mainstream EV reviews.
A typical EV that arrives at a track day with a full battery has between 40 and 70 miles of aggressive track driving before it needs to charge. That might be 4-6 sessions at a half-day event. The Taycan, one of the better track-focused EVs, manages heat and range better than most - but sustained track driving still depletes the battery faster than casual road use, and charging at a track facility takes time.
Compare this to a gas car: a Corvette with a 19-gallon tank and a track-focused fuel map has roughly 80-100 miles of hard track driving before it needs fuel. Fueling takes 5 minutes. You're back on track.
For autocross, short track days, or occasional performance driving, this difference is manageable. For dedicated track-day drivers who run multiple sessions across a full day, the logistics of EV charging at a circuit are a genuine operational constraint.
Modification Culture
The gas performance car world has a decades-deep ecosystem of modifications, upgrades, and community knowledge. Want more power from your C7 Corvette? There are a hundred tested combinations of parts, tunes, and builds at every price point. Want to improve the suspension on your M3? There are dozens of proven setups for street, street-track, and dedicated race use.
EV performance modification is in its infancy. Tesla's locked ECU makes meaningful performance tuning difficult (though not impossible for the most technically sophisticated). Porsche's Taycan has a limited aftermarket compared to its gas cars. The modification and tuning culture that drives much of the enthusiast community's identity is primarily centered on combustion engine vehicles.
This is changing, slowly, as aftermarket companies develop EV-specific offerings. But in 2026, if you're a gearhead who wants to build your car, the gas car ecosystem is vastly deeper.
The Main Competitors
Tesla Model S Plaid
The benchmark for EV performance. 1,020 hp, 0-60 in under 2 seconds, top speed of 200 mph. The Plaid delivers its performance in a large, comfortable sedan form factor with a genuinely impressive interior (by Tesla standards) and one of the best charging networks in the country.
What it doesn't deliver: driving engagement at anything below 8/10 effort, sound, or a particularly communicative chassis. The Plaid is an experience of sheer force rather than a conversation between driver and car.
Porsche Taycan
The Taycan is the EV that most ICE enthusiasts actually respect, and for good reason. Porsche engineered it with the same focus on driver engagement that characterizes their gas cars. The steering is weighted properly. The chassis communicates. The 2-speed rear transmission is unusual for an EV and adds nuance to the power delivery.
The Taycan Turbo S and Turbo GT are extraordinarily fast while feeling more like a Porsche and less like a software-driven appliance than most EVs. They're expensive - Turbo S starts over $185,000 - but they're the strongest argument for EV performance engagement.
Browse Porsche inventory at Arizona Elite Motors
Rivian R1T
The R1T and R1S deserve mention because they changed the definition of what a truck or SUV could do. Sub-3-second 0-60 in a pickup truck that can tow 11,000 pounds is a statement. For the buyer who needs truck utility and wants performance, there's nothing comparable in the gas world at the same price.
It's not a sports car. It's not trying to be. But it's a data point in the EV performance conversation that matters.
Where the Market Is Actually Going
The honest picture in 2026: EVs are becoming increasingly capable and increasingly relevant. The infrastructure has improved substantially in the last three years, and the best EV performance cars - particularly the Taycan and upcoming Porsche Macan EV - are genuinely exciting to drive.
But the transition for core performance enthusiasts is slower than the media narrative suggests. The buyers who care most about driving engagement, sound, modification potential, and track-day use are the buyers who are least likely to make the switch in the near term. The enthusiast market has specific demands that most EVs don't yet meet.
Gas performance cars - Corvettes, M3s, GT500s, GT3s - are not going away in the used market. They're holding value. In some cases, they're appreciating. The naturally aspirated GT3's value has increased year over year as the performance car community has realized what it means to have a 9,000 RPM Porsche.
What Arizona Elite Motors Carries
We're an inventory-driven business, which means we carry what enthusiasts in Phoenix are buying. Right now, that's primarily gas performance vehicles - sports cars, muscle cars, and luxury cars. Corvettes, Shelby GT500s, M3s, Porsches, AMG cars.
We're not ideologically opposed to EVs. We'll carry EV and hybrid performance cars when the right examples come through and when there's buyer demand for them. The Taycan, for instance, is a car we'd happily represent.
What we won't do is tell you an EV is always better than a gas car for performance, or vice versa. The right car depends on what you actually value in the driving experience.
Browse our full inventory or contact us to tell us what you're looking for.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are electric performance cars good for track days?
They can be, with caveats. The biggest constraints are battery range (most EVs have 40-70 miles of aggressive track driving per charge) and heat management (sustained hard driving generates more heat than most EVs are designed to handle). The Porsche Taycan manages track use better than most EVs. For casual autocross or short HPDE sessions, EVs work well. For full track days, gas cars are still more practical.
Do electric cars hold value better than gas performance cars?
It depends on the model. Tesla vehicles have historically depreciated quickly after the first year. Porsche Taycans hold value comparably to Porsche gas cars. Rivian R1 vehicles are newer and less data exists. In the pure sports and muscle car segment, gas performance cars - especially manual transmission vehicles with character - have shown strong value retention in the current market.
Will gas performance cars become obsolete?
Not in the meaningful near term. Regulatory pressure will shift new car sales toward EVs over time, but the used market for desirable gas performance cars will remain active for decades. Collector value for significant gas performance cars - C8 Z06, manual GT3, Shelby GT500 - is likely to increase as production of their type ends. The rarity premium for great gas performance cars is more likely to grow than shrink.