We knew there was more to come from Swiss daredevil Francois Gissy as himself told us in the exclusive interview we did after his 285 km/h (177mph) run in Switzerland one year ago. Once more a November feat, Francois did 333 km/h (207 mph) at the Paul Ricard circuit in Castellet, France. And murdered a Ferrari 430 Scuderia in the process.
Now, nobody expected the Ferrari to put up any sort of real threat to Gissy and his rocket engine-propelled bicycle. However, just like he did on other occasions, it felt really cool to pit the rocket bike against a supercar. We saw him destroy a Subaru which had a headstart, so aligning the 430 on the same starting line was definitely a joke.
Behold the power of peroxide!
Francois relied on a tweaked version of the Exotic Thermo Engineering rocket engine which granted him recognizance as the fastest bicycle rider on earth in the first place. The bike received some more upgrades to make it withstand the extreme vibrations and forces a 333 km/h ride produce. However, we are not looking at a prototype vehicle, as Francois’ ride is derived from an actual mountain bike!
The engine breaks down hydrogen peroxide and provides a tremendous thrust from the three nozzles in the rear. The Ferrari seemed to move faster for the first meters of the race, but this is only because the rocket engine is a bit lagging before the full power kicks in.
However, when things got serious, the Ferrari looked more like a pedal cart. With Francois’ bicycle reaching 333 km/h in less than 5 seconds, Ferrari’s 600 hp, 4-second 0-100 km/h are irrelevant. Far from bashing the 430 Scuderia, it’s rather fun to see more and more powerful supercars trying their luck with Gissy’s bicycle. Maybe we get to see a Koenigsegg or Bugatti Veyron racing him…
400 km/h in under 2 seconds?
Francois Gissy has even bolder plans now. It looks like recent research he and his team made has provided exceptional results and he thinks about doing 400 km/h (248 mph)… in 2 seconds. To some it might sound completely crazy, but this is definitely not the first time Francois has heard the line… and proved it wrong.
Still, we fear that nobody would be willing to race a car against Francois and his bicycle if things reach this level. Or maybe this is only the beginning of a new era in record-breaking?
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