While a Toyota Tundra pickup may have held the record for towing the heaviest vehicle when it moved the space shuttle back in 2012, the Guinness world record was broken again in April 2017. During a display at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris (CDG), a standard 385 horsepower Porsche Cayenne S Diesel towed a 628,000 pound Airbus A380 a distance of 138 feet (42m).
The feat set a new world record for a production car's heaviest aircraft pull, beating the previous world record by 115 tonnes. The only thing not standard on the vehicle was a specially adapted addition connected to the Cayenne's standard tow bar. To ensure that everything was above board, officials from the Guinness World Record were on hand to make sure Porsche cars' Great Britain technician Richard Payne did not break the rules while towing the massive jet.
Porsche engineers calculated that the Cayenne could to the A380
The challenge came about after Payne calculated months earlier that the Porches Cayenne's engine, gearbox, and chassis structure could pull the superjumbo without any modifications. A call to French national flag carrier Air France followed, and the stunt was on!
To help facilitate the stunt, Air France lent Porsche the use of its state-of-the-art- 64,5834 square foot engineering hangar and one of its ten Airbus A380 aircraft. To put things into perspective, the Air France hangar at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) is large enough to house 3,000 Porsche Cayenne cars or one colossal plane.
The airline performed the stunt with F-HPJE (MSN 52), an A380 delivered in May 2011. Air France has since sent the aircraft to Tarbes, where it will almost certainly be scrapped. Air France was the first airline in the world to retire its entire Airbus A380 fleet.
The car just got on with the job
When speaking about what he had achieved in a Porsche Great Britain statement, Payne said:
"I'm so relieved! We don't usually go this far to test the limits of our cars, but I think today we got pretty close. I could tell that it was working hard, but the Cayenne didn't complain and just got on with it. My mirrors were quite full of Airbus, which was interesting.
"Our cars can go a bit beyond what our customers might expect – they're designed to be tough. But even so, what the Cayenne did today was remarkable – we drove the car here from London – and I plan to drive it home again, having towed an A380 in between. Credit should go to the team in Stuttgart who developed the car – they did a thorough job. I'm also very grateful to Air France and its engineers for their generosity in allowing me to tow their beautiful aircraft."
When speaking about its part in the endeavor Executive Vice President of Air France Industries Gery Montreux said:
"Like Porsche, Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance thrive on excellence and pushing engineering boundaries. It was an honor to host Porsche at our hangar at Charles de Gaulle, which is usually home to our engineers working on our fleet of ten Airbus A380s – one of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world. This achievement is a new illustration of the way AFI KLM E&M is able to adapt to specific requirements and the passion we put on every challenge we take. It was fun and exciting to watch the two machines together – our engineers were intrigued and impressed. Congratulations to Porsche on a remarkable achievement."
There to watch and record the event on behalf of the Guinness World Record was Adjudicator Pravin Patel, who said of the feat:
"I've verified some amazing record attempts during my time as a Guinness World Records adjudicator – watching a Porsche Cayenne tow, one of the largest aircraft in the world definitely ranks as among the most spectacular. My congratulations go out to all those involved in achieving this remarkable feat."
At the time of the stunt, the car used for the test retailed for £53,875 ($73,277).
About the Airbus A380
First announced in 1990, the Airbus A380 was developed by the European planemaker to compete with the Boeing 747 in the long-haul marketplace. The first prototype of the superjumbo was unveiled in Toulouse on 18 January 2005, making its first flight on 27 April 2005.
The full-length double-deck aircraft has a typical seating for 525 passengers but could, in theory, carry as many as 853. Unfortunately for many people, as the plane is well-loved amongst the traveling public, Airbus decided to stop producing the four-engined aircraft and concentrate on more fuel-efficient twin-engined planes. The biggest customer for the plane was Dubai's Emirates, which plans to continue using the aircraft for the foreseeable future.