Porsche Cayenne Pulls Airbus A380: Breaks World Record

An Airbus represents one of the largest machines created by man. Classified as an ultra-high-capacity airliner (UHCA), it wows passengers worldwide and has the highest citizen capacity of any aircraft. It is heavy, it is monstrous, and it defies the odds of logic by even taking flight. The Airbus A380 features two decks, four engines, an extra wide body style, and the upper deck alone is over 5,600 square feet! Needless to say, something this large requires a ton of heavy-duty power to move it around the tarmac if it is not self-propelling. But in a world record-breaking feat, a Porsche Cayenne towed an Airbus A380 by itself, and it made quite the impression on the rest of the automotive industry by doing so.

Porsche used the Cayenne S Diesel to achieve this incredible feat. The Cayenne is powered by a 4.2-litre V8 engine, with 380 horsepower and has 627 pound-feet of torque. It is also a standard production car, which makes this even more amazing to witness. In order to break the standing world record, the Cayenne S Diesel was required to tow the plane 42 meters. The record was broken by more than 115 tonnes of weight pulled as well, which makes that 42-meter distance even more shocking.

The Airbus A380 was pulled across the engineering hangar at the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. It is one of ten Airbus models owned by Air France and is now the only one in the collection to have been pulled by a luxury SUV. It made for a stunning view, with the mid-range SUV looking dwarfed by the giant behemoth. The Cayenne S made it look casual and effortless in the attempt.

Richard Payne was the driver of the Cayenne S during the attempt, titled, “The Heaviest Aircraft Pull by a Production Car.” He is a Porsche Technician and reportedly said he was “very relieved” after the stunt. Porsche does not typically perform such unusual feats with its vehicles, so this was entirely unexpected in the industry. Following right behind the Cayenne S for an attempt of its own, the Cayenne S Turbo also challenged the Airbus A380 and was also successful. A special towing attachment had to be fitted to the vehicles to accommodate the hefty request, but other than that, all features of the vehicle were left as stock.

Porsche has an outstanding track record (literally) in the road-racing sector of the industry and certainly has an excellent engineering team when it comes to racing. They hold their own amongst competitors like Audi effortlessly, and as a daily driver, they are notorious for their luxury price tags and rounded body styles. They have a European flair and exude a sense of class and elitism as they glide down the street. To see a stock Porsche performing such a heavy-duty task undoubtedly increases the perception of brand value through durability for the working-class citizen. This feat will likely increase brand awareness and enforce a sense of growing pride into current Cayenne owners, as well.