Watch What Happens When the World’s Fastest Car Takes on the World’s Fastest Motorcycle in Epic Race
Do two or four wheels reign supreme?
Motorcycles have traditionally enjoyed an advantage over cars in acceleration due to their lighter weight, while cars normally have higher top speeds because they are more aerodynamically efficient, leaving two-wheeled and four-wheeled advocates at odds over which is truly faster.
With the advent of insanely powerful hypercars like the 1,000 horsepower Bugatti Veyron, it seemed as though the issue might have been settled in favor of cars. But when Kawasaki launched the 300-horsespower supercharged H2 hyperbike, Super Street magazine and Sport Rider magazine decided a shootout was in order to check on the current pecking order.
They found that the Kawasaki preserved the two-wheelers’ usual dominance of straight-line acceleration, with the H2 crossing the line at the end of the quarter mile far ahead of the 2008 Bugatti, while traveling at 194 mph, compared to the Veyron’s 180 mph.
If the competitors took a trip to the wide-open expanses of the Bonneville Salt Flats, or maybe to the German autobahn, we could expect to see a reversal of fortunes, as the Bugatti would assert its 253 mph top speed, compared to a maximum of 249 mph for the Kawasaki.
Of course, once there is a turn in the road, the car will leave the motorcycle for dead, as especially demonstrated by this race between a Mercedes Formula One car and a Yamaha R1 superbike.
h/t: Super Street