It's a common component of Forza Horizon games. The Top Gear team has given it a go. Now Sir Lewis Hamilton is getting in on the act.
It looks like the Mercedes-AMG Formula One team has been filming one of their cars going head to head against a jet plane.
Car versus plane in Forza games
Racing gamers will be familiar with the concept. Jet aircraft may have incredible top speeds, but aren't the easiest to slow for the corners. Cars can get off of the line quicker and brake well in preparation for twisty stuff, but lose out on any long straight.
We've seen this sort of thing as Showcase events in the Forza Horizon games. In Forza Horizon 4, we raced the Aston Martin Vulcan against a jet that looked suspiciously like a Vulcan bomber. Of course, in the game world we go again if we lose. In the real world this isn't always possible!
In the real world
BBC television program Top Gear have performed this stunt a few times. Our favourite is the classic Bugatti Veyron versus Eurofighter Typhoon from a few years back. It's worth watching this again and remembering how revolutionary the Veyron was at the time!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NZ9X9A2efA
A few years later, the new Top Gear team wanted their own attempt to beat a jet in a car, so we saw the McLaren Speedtail go head to head with the F35 fighter. It's the sort of thing we'd all love to try if we had the BBC budget behind us!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROOeGPrC1Do
It plays upon a natural instinct humans seem to have. Given any two vehicles, we always seem to ask "Which one is faster?"
Formula One car versus jet
Reddit user Gladiatiorr spotted the seven-time F1 champ Lewis Hamilton at his local airfield, Denton TX. The team were taking photos and running the car along the runways with a film crew in tow. At the same time, the stunt plane thundered overhead.
https://reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/qcgrc1/lewis_hamilton_raced_a_jet_today_in_denton_tx/
The Aero L-39C officially has a maximum speed of 470 mph, so in a straight line this probably wouldn't be much of a contest. Charts showed the jet was making tight loops around the airstrip though. We reckon the F1 car could make it close, with sufficient corners on the route.
We'll hope to see the result soon. Maybe going up against such an opponent will be good preparation for racing Max Verstappen at COTA this weekend!