Spectacular mismatch: Lamborghini Reventón v Tornado A200-A aircraft

Perhaps not satisfied with taking on other supercars, Lamborghini pitched its Reventón against a Tornado aircraft in an acceleration race at Ghedi military airport last week... and yes, it lost, but not without a fight, and not without producing some great images.

Driven by an official Lamborghini test driver, the 650 HP, 12-cylinder Reventón took the early lead on the 3000 m-long runway before being overtaken (and flown over) by the Tornado in the last few meters as it reached speeds in excess of 340 kmh (211mph).

The premise for the extraordinary race was that the design by the Centro Stile Lamborghini drew inspiration from the world of modern aviation. Based on the Murciélago LP640, the Reventon retains the classic twelve-cylinder engine with 6.5 litre displacement and 650 HP (478 kW) at 8,000rpm with torque equal to maximum 660 Nm, robotized e.gear changes and a permanent Viscous Traction four-wheel drive system. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is achieved in just 3.4 seconds with a maximum speed over 340 kmh.

Officially presented to the public at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, the Ghedi (Brescia) military base was chosen as the venue at which to present the Lamborghini super car to international TV networks.

And if you're looking to invest in one of these exclusive supercars, you're too late. Only 20 of the 1 million euro vehicles are to be built and delivered in 2008, but all are sold.