Can the mighty Bugatti Chiron Sport beat a French fighter jet?  

Throughout its history, Bugatti is certainly no stranger to speed. It started with the De Dietrich 60 CV Course Bugatti Type 5, the first car to breach 100 km/h in 1903, all the way to the unprecedented 490.4 km/h set by the Chiron Super Sport 300+ in 2019, the first series-production model to do so.

 

The French car marque is also known for honoring drivers that have contributed to its iconic status, with the current release in this vein being the Chiron Sport Les Légendes du Ciel edition, translating to ‘Legends of the Sky.’ Limited to just 20 units, it pays tribute to past racers who also served as fighter pilots in the French Air Force, among them Louis Blériot, Roland Garros, Robert Benoist, Bartolomeo Constantini, and Albert Divo. 

 

This limited edition Chiron Sport honors Bugatti drivers who have served France both on the circuit and in the skies

Now, a homage to these sky aces wouldn’t be complete without Bugatti throwing down the gauntlet to an actual aircraft, and the challenge would have to be issued against a compatriot. Enter the Dassault Rafale Marine, a multirole fighter jet currently part of the French Navy’s formidable hardware that has seen combat missions in Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq, and Syria.

Dassault's multirole fighter jet has flown in various combat zones since 2001

A straight-line drag race between these two is a tempting proposition, reminiscent of 2007's showdown between the Bugatti Veyron and a Eurofighter Typhoon. The Chiron Sport brings an 8.0-liter W16 quad-turbo engine to the duel, spewing out 1,479 hp and 1,600 Nm of torque. As the track-focused version of the Chiron, the Chiron Sport is 18 kg. lighter due to its carbon fiber body. Zero to 100 km/h takes all of 2.4 seconds, with a top speed electronically capped at 420 km/h because no tire in existence can withstand the stress from the car’s nearly 500 km/h true limit.      

The two contenders sizing each other up

Meanwhile, the Rafale is armed with twin Snecma M88-2 turbofan engines, each rated at 16,900 lbf of thrust with afterburners. That’s more than plenty to push its fully optimized airframe made of composite materials and featuring a canard delta wing configuration. The design and propulsion systems have proven key to the Rafale’s agility, and the aircraft can withstand up to 11 Gs of force in extreme cases.

Both machines look evenly matched in the beginning

In a video clip video uploaded to YouTube, Bugatti shows how the contest went down. Both contenders emerge from their respective hangars like two prizefighters and take to the runway, the Chiron Sport trotting along at a leisurely pace. As soon as the Rafale taxis up alongside it, the race is on, and the car floors it across the tarmac.

The Chiron Sport pulls away with ease, even before the Rafale gets to fire its afterburners

The aircraft may have the advantage in aerodynamics and power, but it tips the scales at a massive 9,979 kg., more than five times the Chiron Sport’s 1,978 kg. curb weight. By the time the Rafale fires up the afterburners, the Bugatti has pulled cleanly away, leaving the jet to take off in the car’s wake.            

Defeated, the fighter jet could only raise its arms (or nose) in surrender

It was a brief demonstration of the lengths that the high-performance automaker goes through to assert its mastery of speed. Although Bugatti has already signaled that it has nothing left to prove to its fans and rivals alike, a stunt like this won’t be soon forgotten, just like the high-flying heroes that the company owes its existence to. If you are into sports cars, take a look at the Chrysler Crossfire sold by Chrysler and built by Karmann of Germany.

Speed is just one of the things we celebrate here on Philkotse.com.