The Italian Navy is preparing an unusual contest between two very different machines, pitting one of its F-35B fighters against a Ferrari SF90 in a test of raw acceleration.

The race is planned for next month at the Navy’s air base at Grottaglie in southern Italy.

The F-35B can operate from a very short runway, hover and land vertically.

At Grottaglie, however, the fighter will face a Ferrari driven by Fabio Barone, who has claimed seven speed records in a Ferrari.

A Navy spokesman confirmed that the race would proceed. Barone acknowledged that beating the aircraft will not be easy, saying, “We are used to getting a result, but this will be tough.”

The first race is scheduled for Oct. 11 and will cover 500 meters.

It will take place on an aluminum runway used by the Navy’s F-35Bs for landing, and the fighter will take off at the end of the course.

Barone said the Ferrari normally accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds.

Special engine tuning is expected to cut that time to 2.6 seconds for the contest.

With that tuning, Barone expects the Ferrari to reach 330 km/h during the 500 meter run. He said the car should complete the course in between 8 and 9 seconds.

That performance will put considerable force on the driver as the Ferrari charges down the runway.

Image Credit: DoW

“With that acceleration, I will face 2.2g, meaning 140kg of pressure,” Barone said.

The Ferrari is expected to have the advantage immediately after the start, while the aircraft will bring greater power as the contest develops.

“The F35B will make a slower start but has more power,” Barone said.

A second race will be held across both asphalt and aluminum and will cover 2.8 km. After the first 500 meters, the F-35B will take over the contest and complete the remaining race in flight.

Barone, 54, said the car and aircraft will race together on a runway measuring 35 meters across.

That arrangement will leave only 15 meters between the Ferrari and the F-35B during the run.

“We will be very close,” Barone said. The aluminum surface will add another complication, as he explained: “The challenge will be driving over the aluminium plates, which will create vibration.”

Barone said the unusual match offers something that another competition between cars could not.

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“Everyone can race against another car, and this is a chance to put on a show. Additionally, Michael Schumacher did it,” he said.

Schumacher staged a similar spectacle in 2003, when the former Formula One driver raced a Ferrari Formula One car against an Italian Air Force Eurofighter. The event at Italy’s Grosseto air base attracted a crowd of 50,000.

The Eurofighter won the 900 meter and 1,200 meter races without taking off.

Schumacher captured the 600 meter race after accelerating from the starting line to 294 km/h and finishing in 9.6 seconds.

That result put Schumacher ahead of the Eurofighter by two tenths of a second.

The earlier contest now provides the precedent for Barone’s attempt to challenge the F-35B on the Navy runway.

Image Credit: DoW

Barone has also previously worked with the Italian Navy in another high speed Ferrari demonstration.

Last year, he drove a Ferrari along the flight deck of the Navy’s new Trieste carrier vessel.

During that run, Barone reached 164 km/h across approximately 200 meters. He then slammed on the brakes to avoid driving off the end of the ship, a maneuver that offered its own dramatic preview of the precision required at Grottaglie.

This time, Barone will have both the runway surface and a powerful military aircraft to contend with.

The Oct. 11 races will determine whether the Ferrari’s explosive start can overcome the F-35B before the fighter’s power and ability to take flight settle the contest.