Hyundai Genesis Coupe Outruns An Arrow: Video

Kudos to Hyundai for putting a new twist on the «can a car outrun this object» theme by outrunning an arrow with a humble Genesis Coupe–but pardon us if we take a closer look at the physics of this video before we go all googly-eyed.

Most arrows from a typical modern compound bow will travel somewhere between 200 and 400 feet per second. That sounds quite fast–and, in truth, it is. An arrow traveling at 200 fps is traveling at about 136 mph–just 4 mph shy of the Genesis Coupe 2.0T’s top speed, and 16 mph short of the V-6 model’s limit.

What you see in the video, then, is a carefully controlled exhibition of that reality: physics doesn’t lie, at least not when it comes to basics like this. With a flying start and a well-timed release of the arrow, the conclusion was foregone, as long as the bow’s tension was properly calibrated.

On the other hand, you could see this as a skillful distortion of the possibilities: with a powerful hunting bow and arrow combination, even a delimited, modified Genesis Coupe (or even a Hennessey Venom GT) would be very hard pressed to keep up: 400 fps is the equivalent of 272.7 mph.

Now, show us a car out-accelerating an arrow, and we’ll try not to let our jaws knock a hole in the floor.