To be clear, Red Bull put side by side an F1, a MotoGP driven by Dani Pedrosa, an electric Ford SuperVan 4.2, a WRC car and a Rallycross car, each of these machines being likely to tear off its driver's head at the start of the 400 meters to be covered.
As acceleration depends mainly on two factors, power-to-weight ratio and drive wheel grip, the Spanish driver's KMT RC16 was not at an advantage, with its rear tire contact patch equivalent to a credit card, and for the weight/power ratio, here are the figures:
Red Bull Racing RB8
Renault RS27 2.4 V8
850 horses
640kg
Weight/power ratio (empty): 0,75
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16
1,000 tsp
270 horses
160kg
Weight/power ratio (empty): 0,59
Peugeot 208 RX1e
1,000cc Turbo
500kW (680 power)
1300kg
Weight/power ratio (empty): 1,91
M-Sport Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1
1.6lt Ecoboost Hybrid Turbo + 100 kW electric motor
550 horses
1260kg
Weight/power ratio (empty): 2,29
Ford SuperVan 4.2
50kWh battery powering three 6-phase x STARD UHP motors
2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW)
1680kg
Weight/power ratio (empty): 0,84
Even in 4-wheel drive, the two WRC and Rallycross cars had little chance, but between the overpowering Supervan, F1 with hyper-wide tires and MotoGP where the weight of the driver, even minimal as for Dani Pedrosa, largely influences acceleration dependent on a single wheel, doubt was allowed...
We let you discover the video here, with a big surprise…
In fact, Dani Pedrosa still had some under his right hand, but he wanted to keep as much grip as possible. This is why he got the best start on a slippery surface: “it was quite difficult not to go hard, but I wanted to keep the best traction possible”.
The surprise of course comes from the electric Supervan, which accelerates better than an F1 car!
Photo credits: © Alex Carmichael/Carwow/Red Bull Content Pool
