It takes a contender with a strong heart to race a rival with close to four times its horsepower and twenty times its price tag. Regardless of how intimidating racing a Lamborghini SVJ is, the Suzuki Hayabusa was crowned the fastest stock motorcycle when it first debuted in 1999. Mat Watson of Carwow put these two racers head to head in a drag race.
Drag races have gotten pretty boring, and honestly speaking, they are not the most appropriate measure of motorsport superiority. But a drag race between a car and motorcycle sparks some curiosity.
Despite the kind of accelerating brilliance motorbikes are capable of, the SVJ, on paper, packs some intimidating features. It has an impressive 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 pushing 759 hp (770 ps) and 631 lb-ft (720 Nm) of torque. It runs all four wheels via a 7-speed single-clutch robotized manual gearbox (jargon for a paddle-shift auto). The SVJ weighs 1,525 kgs and costs a whopping £437,097 ($350,000).
The Suzuki Hayabusa, on the other hand, has a 1,340 cc engine that puts down 195 horsepower. While that’s close to four times lower than the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, it weighs just over 573 lbs (260 kg) and costs around £21,230 ($17,000).
The first challenge is a quarter-mile drag race. Thanks to its launch control feature, the Lamborghini SVJ takes the lead for the first 200-yards. But, there are still 1,560 yards to the quarter-mile mark, and that’s enough for the Hayabusa to turn the race around completely.
“How do you launch a bike with a one-wheel-drive as good as a heavy car with four-wheel-drive and massive fat tires?” Watson asked, looking puzzled.
They did a rematch, and even though it looked like the SVJ would win, the Hayabusa closed the gap. The Suzuki Hayabusa won the race completing the quarter-mile in 10.4-seconds, while the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ did it in 10.7-seconds
The duo did two more races, including a break test. We recommend you catch the action in the video below. The Hayabusa humiliates the Lamborghini with a show-off wheelie at one point.
Despite the kind of accelerating brilliance motorbikes are capable of, the SVJ, on paper, packs some intimidating features. It has an impressive 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 pushing 759 hp (770 ps) and 631 lb-ft (720 Nm) of torque. It runs all four wheels via a 7-speed single-clutch robotized manual gearbox (jargon for a paddle-shift auto). The SVJ weighs 1,525 kgs and costs a whopping £437,097 ($350,000).
The Suzuki Hayabusa, on the other hand, has a 1,340 cc engine that puts down 195 horsepower. While that’s close to four times lower than the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, it weighs just over 573 lbs (260 kg) and costs around £21,230 ($17,000).
The first challenge is a quarter-mile drag race. Thanks to its launch control feature, the Lamborghini SVJ takes the lead for the first 200-yards. But, there are still 1,560 yards to the quarter-mile mark, and that’s enough for the Hayabusa to turn the race around completely.
“How do you launch a bike with a one-wheel-drive as good as a heavy car with four-wheel-drive and massive fat tires?” Watson asked, looking puzzled.
They did a rematch, and even though it looked like the SVJ would win, the Hayabusa closed the gap. The Suzuki Hayabusa won the race completing the quarter-mile in 10.4-seconds, while the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ did it in 10.7-seconds
The duo did two more races, including a break test. We recommend you catch the action in the video below. The Hayabusa humiliates the Lamborghini with a show-off wheelie at one point.