Two of the world’s most technologically advanced machines decided to have a race
Top Gear set out to see how fast hypercars have gone in terms of top speed and technology. And when you have a 250mph McLaren Speedtail to thrash around a runaway the best rival has to be a supersonic fighter jet capable of 1,200mph.
Gear head Chris Harris accepted the challenge to see what a McLaren Speedtail can do up against a fighter jet. The hypercar is fitted with a twin-turbo V-8 engine with a parallel hybrid drive system making over 1,000hp. That’s good enough for a top speed of 252mph. All that comes with a cost, of course – $2.2-million.
Everything about the Speedtail is impressive, but on the other side, the rival is one of Royal Air Force’s F-35 Lightning II. And that’s a 1,200mph fighter jet with stealth technology and capable of landing vertically on an aircraft carrier. Ough..yes..and it costs $124 million which makes the McLaren Speedtail quite of a bargain in comparison.