VIDEO: Kawasaki's 300hp H2R Hyperbike Takes On 3166hp In Epic Three-Way Drag Battle

Now, we don’t usually do bikes here, but when the Kawasaki H2R challenges the fastest of the fast cars, we won’t back down. Neither did a Bugatti Veyron, McLaren 12C, or a tuned Nissan GT-R. Has the non-street legal supercharged 300hp hyperbike bitten off more than it can chew? 

Kawasaki claims the H2R is the fastest bike around, and although it hasn’t been verified, the numbers are indeed in its favour. With a curb weight of just 216kg (wow!), the 998cc supercharged four-cylinder engine doesn’t have much holding it back.

Superstreetonline teamed up with Sport Rider Magazine and Omega Motorsport to organize a duel between some very fast four-wheeled beasts and the H2R at California’s Minter Airfield. Not an easy feat as there was only one H2R within American borders and it only just finished a dyno run the night before. Its challengers: a McLaren MP4-12C, a Bugatti Veyron in a 1200hp Super Sport Tune, and lastly a Nissan GT-R tuned to 1350hp by SP Engineering.

Kent Kunitsugu, editor of Sport Rider Magazine, would pilot the H2R and each car would get three attempts at a half mile (0.8km) run alongside the bike from either a rolling start at 80km/h or a standing start. A radar system to would log the speed when cross the finish mark. There are three videos below, watch them all in sequence for the best viewing experience.

The 616hp McLaren MP4-12C was first up and immediately earmarked as the weakest of all three contenders. Granted, the 12C deserves huge respect in as of itself, but pitted against the Kawasaki and the result is rather predictable: the H2R shamed it pretty decisively.

Next up, the Bugatti Veyron. Now this a car that we know well for its acceleration. Its heavier weight might not make it the fastest car through a technical circuit but its monstrous quad-turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 engine make its more than a match for anything on a straight (mostly).

This one has been tuned to 1200hp as well, so that can’t hurt its chances to claw one back for the team car. But although it looked like it was gaining rather quickly towards the end, the Veyron couldn’t sustain its early lead and the H2R zoomed past it.

Finally, the Nissan GT-R. The Giant Killer. Godzilla. In this 1350hp tune, can it do better than the 1200hp Veyron? Its Japanese bike VS Japanese car. This GT-R has been extensively modified to dominate straight line speed, thus making it unusable as a daily driver. SP Engineering spent a good portion of the day working on the car to prep it for the run against the H2R.

Their magic must have worked, though, because the GTR quickly gained up on the bike after its early lead and kept on steadily accelerating past and on to victory. That’s one staggeringly fast car, especially when compared to how easily the H2R won over the Veyron.