Video: Godzilla versus the Ducati 1098 superbike
Ducati 1098 versus Nissan GT-R – Click above to watch the video after the break
What happens when you line a motorcycle up with a car on a racetrack? As always, the answer is up for debate and depends on the vehicles being compared, the track they are running on, track and weather conditions and the skill of the pilots. Still, it's an age-old battle of four wheels versus two, good versus evil – and somehow we just know that the video from Autocar pasted after the break will only serve to drive the two camps further apart than ever before.
First, the combatants. A stealthy black Nissan GT-R carries the turbocharged, all-wheel drive torch on the four-wheeled side, while a Ducati 1098 ably handles the motorcycle duties. As you probably expect, the superbike has no problems whatsoever leaving the GT-R for dead in a straight line, while the car's two additional contact patches allow it to brake and turn with much more authority than the Ducati. And the winner is? Click past the break to see for yourself.
[Source: Autocar via Youtube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
JDM Life 8:07PM (1/04/2010)
Awesome test of Bike Vs Car.
A lighter more powerful car would be better. Like the ZR-1, LF-A etc. That bike you serious so a serious car was needed.
Also i might sound dumb for this...but i didn't kno there was exotic bikes....
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JDM Life 8:13PM (1/04/2010)
Is serious *
downhill.specialist 8:24PM (1/04/2010)
Yes there are bikes that are considered exotic.
I would not compare my Yamaha R6 or soon to be shipped R1 as being as exotic as say the Ducati 1098R. For one: the 1098R, despite being (in my eyes) no better than the R1, costs roughly $49,000 dollars versus the R1's $13,000. Similar to a GT-R being as good as a Porsche 911, one costs much more and therefore would be considered the more 'exotic'.
To me a Ducati doesn't necessarily smack of exotic except for some of it's material construction and the like. However once you consider that you will see thousands of Japanese bikes on the road, versus a much smaller number of Ducati's more expensive models, you could easily make the argument that it's an exotic.
gerrrg 8:34PM (1/04/2010)
I'm with you...I'd love to see the LF-A in action against anything, on a street-style racetrack.
Venom 8:47PM (1/04/2010)
JDM,
Thought you said the GT-R was not a supercar.
That looked pretty supercar to me.
Why do you think a lighter more powerful car would be better?
He made it pretty clear in the video that the GT-R beat the bike overall by 3 seconds around the track.
gadgetsgalore 9:06PM (1/04/2010)
How is this for exotic. $120,000 worth. Saw this bike at a recent bike show near Philly.
http://www.ferracci.com/bike.php?bid=239
IOMTT 9:44PM (1/04/2010)
@Downhill Specialist. I have owned a few Ducatis and a first generation R1 (and about 50 other motorcycles over the last 20 years) and I am green with envy that you are getting a new R1. I really like the way they look and then I heard one with an Akrapovic exhaust and had to go home to change my undergarments. Your comments are spot on regarding exotic bikes. I think Ben Spies probably thinks the R1 is better than a Ducati though :)
Carlos 10:02PM (1/04/2010)
@JDM
That bike was serious but a GTR isn't serious enough? Says who? You? Ha that made me laugh
@Venom
Do you really need to ask that question?
mtbiker124 10:19PM (1/04/2010)
a couple bike mfgs that i view as being exotics- binelli, aprilia, mv agusta, and yes, ducati... i don't think price makes them exotic, i think its the exclusivity, emotional design, and european (of course, not all euro bikes are exotic). japanese bikes are too common, and usually get beat up because they're cheap. for some 2 wheel porn, check out ducati desmosedici rr ... above statement is just my opinion!
jcar302 10:34AM (1/05/2010)
The zr1 would of done even better. Not to knock the gtr because it's a great car, but most of the tests prove that the zr1 and gtr have very similar handling performance, but the zr1 annihilates it in a straight line, and that motorcycle would not only of lost ground in the turns but it wouldn't of gained as much or any ground in the straight aways.
audi_arena 1:52PM (1/05/2010)
Awesome test, extremely informative. I love the final comment on how nuts it is when the bike passes the GTR out of that corner. It would be interesting to see which one came out on top in a real race because I think it would be MUCH harder for the GTR to pass the bike, and stay on top.
priymedh 8:22PM (1/04/2010)
Bikes are the bomb, better handling, more agile,cheaper, quicker, not even dangerous if you know how to ride them.
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Farris 8:30PM (1/04/2010)
I don't know about the "better handling" and "not even dangerous if you know how to ride them" lines. Having two wheels for turning and four wheels for braking is advantageous in my mind.
As far as safety? No amount of riding knowledge in the world will save you from being T-boned by someone running a red light. In a car you at least stand a chance of survival... not so in a bike. I love bikes as much as anyone, but I'm not gonna delude myself into thinking they're safe.
notYou 9:35AM (1/05/2010)
As an ex 'saki and 'zuki hooligan of many years and miles, I'll tell you that the danger isn't so much lacking the knowledge (actually, experience) to ride well, it's the traffic around you.*
Take it to heart - here's hoping you don't have to learn it the hard way.
(* and it's not even that every non-2-wheeler is an idiot, it's just that the performance of even the average bike is hyper compared to the best performing cars, and almost no driver on the road is aware to adjust their expectations and reactions to it. For your average car driver, bikes can practically -poof!- appear out of nowhere, even when they are observing closely)
steve 8:33PM (1/04/2010)
"not even dangerous if you know how to ride them." LMFAO... I hope you have signed the back of your drivers license, we could use a few more good organs...
Venom 8:51PM (1/04/2010)
Get a bike and hit my 5,000 pound car with both of us going 60mph and see how not dangerous a bike is. lol
The video also showed that even though the bike was faster in the straightaway, the car handled better.
adrenalnjunky 9:13PM (1/04/2010)
"Bikes are the bomb, better handling, more agile,cheaper, quicker, not even dangerous if you know how to ride them."
Then how exactly, prey-tell, did the bike get beat by a good margin?
nns357 8:28PM (1/04/2010)
IT IS NOT A SKYLINE! IF YOU'RE GOING TO WORK FOR AN AUTOMOTIVE REVIEWING COMPANY LEARN THE NAMES OF THE GOD DAMN CARS.
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Junzhi 8:31PM (1/04/2010)
I might be mistaken but I don't think they uploaded that video and no where in the post did they say Skyline.
Oh, and I hope you can read my post okay given that it's not in all caps
Jason 8:39PM (1/04/2010)
he corrected himself and said GTR Nissan. relax, buddy... it's not that serious.