Filed under: Contests, Supercars, Bugatti, First Drive
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday: Top Gear pits Bugatti Veyron against jet fighter
The Bugatti Veyron is a technological tour de force, and racing the 16-cylinder, 1,001 HP supercar against just about any other car really isn't fair. Last year, the folks at Top Gear pitted the Bugatti against a couple of Cessna 182s, but the wheeled wonder won in a walk. The RAF thought it could put up a better fight with the help of a Eurofighter Typhoon jet, and Top Gear accepted the challenge. The good news is that we get to see the race with our own eyes this Sunday. The exhibition is two miles in total, but the runway is only a mile long. To get both miles in, the Veyron will need to perform a legal U-Turn, and the Typhoon will need to climb up one mile, flip, and head back the other way. Regardless of who wins, this should be just awesome to watch. Just for fun, hit the comments and let us know which machine you think will come out on top. We're going to go ahead and take the jet, but we wouldn't be surprised to, you know, be surprised. .
[Source: Top Gear via German Car Blog]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Carlos 9:07AM (10/05/2007)
The Veyron will beat the Typhoon out of the hole, but after a half a mile or so the Typhoon will eat the Veyron alive!
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Nick 9:17AM (10/05/2007)
Given TopGear is admittedly all scripted up... expect the Veyron to race to the win after Stig launches a Stinger missisle at its tail pipe during the 1 mile climb...
Nobody said it was going to be fair!
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Tommy 9:18AM (10/05/2007)
....I wonder whose Veyrons they're using...and it's been a couple over the past few years. Are peple really willing to donate their Veyrons to the Top Gear crew for a few days? Hmm...interesting
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Matt 1:54PM (10/05/2007)
I believe all of their Veyron-oriented stunts have involved press cars. VW has a few sitting around that they lend out, the only difference between one of them and OTHER companies' loaners being that there are restrictions on how they can be used.
Jeremy had mentioned once or twice, I want to say in Season 8, that VW would not let them use it on their track, which is why it hasn't run it in 45 seconds or whatever. Yet. ;)
They had sent out a request for any viewer who owned one to give them a call and let them borrow it. Stig and the Koenigsegg eating a tire wall all over again, anybody?
zeroSignal 9:19AM (10/05/2007)
Watch closely to see Hammond's helmet - it was a gift from the guys at FinalGear.com!
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Pedro 9:29AM (10/05/2007)
Will this be on this Sunday on BBC America or will we have to wait for Monday night?!
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Nelson 9:58AM (10/05/2007)
No it will not be on BBC America this week. The BBCA schedule just finished series 8, and Monday will start the first episode of series 9. Its the first show back after Hammond's big crash. So while series 10 is kicking off Sunday in the UK, we're just starting series 9.
OT, episode 3 of series 9 they do a rod trip from Miami to New Orleans. It is a must see.
Chris 9:44AM (10/05/2007)
What Carlos and Nick said. In a fair race, pretty much any jet fighter would blow any car out of the water after the first half-mile or so, but since Top Gear is Top Gear and not Top Gun, I expect they'll find a way for the car to win ;)
You can see a decidedly lower-tech version of this at airshows every summer when Les Shockley's jet truck goes up against one of the headliner aerobatic performers. On a two-mile runway, Shockwave can get up to an indicated 250 MPH or so, but every once in a while the airplane pilot doesn't time the run right and beats the truck pretty badly. (The idea is that the truck is supposed to release the brakes at the same time that the plane passes overhead.)
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Brad 9:48AM (10/05/2007)
Will the typhoon be on the runway or will it be flying at close to stall speed when it reaches the Bugatti? Once the typhoon gets airborne though it's game over.
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Liters 9:59AM (10/05/2007)
5th gear already did this between Michael Schumacher in his Formula 1 Ferrari and the same type Eurofighter. Here's the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=m98SmhO5ANM So the Veyron pretty much doesn't stand a chance. They should do a race between the F1 car and the Veyron; that would be cool to watch.
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Nelson 10:05AM (10/05/2007)
Of course what we all want to see is the Veyron do a timed lap of the TopGear track. Can it knock the Koenigsegg CCX off the top of the power board?
James 3:27PM (10/05/2007)
Exactly. And this was a V-10 Ferrari with 900-odd hp. The Veyron has (relative to the Ferrari) a lousy power-to-weight ratio. Why bother?
Phil L. 10:23AM (10/05/2007)
Well, the whole thing is an irrelevant contest. Neither vehicle is particularly suited for U-turns - but it's the turn that will be pivotal for this particular competition.
That said, it will be entertaining - which is the whole point. My guess? Cars are better at acceleration from a stop, so I get it the edge over the jet trying to turn quickly. But if the course were anything over a mile each way, the jet gets the edge. I'm sure they chose the track distance to keep it close...
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theSAWzall 10:47AM (10/05/2007)
Why don't they do something original, like dropping a "Caravan" on a Veyron!
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Eldiablo 5:53PM (10/05/2007)
Due to the unique way the BBC is funded...
... I think the only way they could do this is if a rival car company paid for them to do this. And the BBC doesn't do sponsorship (much). :)
Jeff the Baptist 10:53AM (10/05/2007)
If they want to really challenge the Veyron, have the Stig run it on a power lap. Or better yet put it up against Caterham on a track. That would be great.
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Chad 12:06PM (10/05/2007)
Top Gear is the show I love to hate. They do stupid crap like this but I can't seem to look away.
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Carlos 12:38PM (10/05/2007)
God yes, it's entertaining and that's all, but it carries no weight when it comes to respecability. It's the car equivilent to people's court haha
Alex 1:44PM (10/05/2007)
"the Veyron will need to perform a legal U-Turn"
What is an illegal u-turn?
"the Typhoon will need to climb up one mile, flip, and head back the other way"
So in reality the typhoon has to go three miles to the veyron's two, or is the typhoon climbing for the first mile?
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TEM 4:06PM (10/05/2007)
I still much rather see the Mclaren F1 in this competition.
Mclaren F1 > Veyron : )
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