Nissan races a fighter jet against a … Leaf?

When you imagine the cars that Nissan could roll out to drag race against a fighter jet, the mighty GT-R supercar or even the sporty new Z coupe are the ones that spring to mind.

Not so much, the all-electric Leaf.

But in this fun clip, that proves… well we’re not quite sure, a 2023 Nissan Leaf whiz silently down a runway ahead of an Aero L-39 Albatros jet.

The single-engine Albatros was developed in Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s as a training and acrobatic aircraft. It is powered by a Soviet-era turbofan engine that can produce a maximum of 3790lb (1719kg) of thrust. It has a takeoff speed of 115 knots (213km/h).

The Leaf e+, meanwhile, features a single 160kW electric motor, which offers a 6.9-second 0-100km/h sprint time and a 160km/h top speed.

And no, on the face of it, those numbers don’t really add up.

But, using a thurst-to-horsepower conversion – where horsepower = thrust x velocity / 375 – at the Leaf’s maximum speed of 160km/h (100mph), the L-39 is demonstrating around 1000hp, or 735kW.

Plus, from a standing start, the turbofan engine needs to shift the weight of the jet (4760kg) and even at maximum thrust, the jet's acceleration immediately off the mark isn’t as fast as the near-instantaneous performance of the Leaf’s electric motor.

In fact, using the same thrust calculation as before, the Albatros takes until a speed of 26km/h until it is even matching the equivalent of the Nissan’s 160kW output.

Obviously, the race closes rather quickly from that point, but it does give the little Nissan a chance to get the drop of the jet until the pre-determined finishing line.

So while it proves nothing, it is a fun clip and Nissan in Japan has even shared a behind-the-scenes cut showing multiple camera angles from the Leaf to prove that the drag race was conducted in real life.

This isn’t the first time Nissan has stacked the odds to showcase a Leaf’s performance either.

Back in 2015, Nissan Japan raced a first-generation Leaf against a Nissan 180SX in a very short (approximately 30m) acceleration race. Once again, it proved very little but was still a bit of fun.

If you like the sound of an L-39 Albatros and want to try some Cold War-era jet performance for yourself, experience company Air Combat Australia offer joy flights in both Melbourne and Sydney in a two-seat L-39 jet trainer.

However if you believe the clip and want to feel ‘real’ performance, the Nissan Leaf is one of the few electric cars currently in stock at dealers around the country – though its sales have been in decline for the past four years in a row.