The auto enthusiasts in us must now be fully aware of what SSC’s latest-take-on-the-fastest-cars-in-the-world, the SSC Tuatara, can do. On a Saturday of October 10, 2020, Shelby SuperCars (SSC) North America did the unthinkable – it beat the record of Bugatti’s hooligan-for-a-car Chiron, but 2020 kept playing its card and the 316mph run was axed as the American automobile manufacturer was found to have manipulated the results.
To take matters into their own hands, again, the company planned for another top-speed record attempt which allegedly took place at an undisclosed runway somewhere in Florida, on the 12th & 13th of December, 2020. However, both the runs didn’t produce the results SSC was aiming for. Moving on for the third attempt, then.
After a series of much-talked-about and horrendously-publicized top speed record attempts towards the end of last year, SSC has now announced a new, and genuine, top speed record for a production car clocking 282.9mph with its Tuatara hypercar. The third time’s a charm, then.
The successor to the Ultimate Aero, Tuatara hit a two-way average speed of 282.9mph using 2.3 miles of a three-mile runway at the Kennedy Space Center, with the data being recorded using Racelogic VBOX equipment, as well as hardware and software from Life Racing and Garmin. See, SSC was serious this time.
The first run hit 279.7mph, while on the second run, Larry Caplin, owner of the Tuatara #001, hit a record 286.1mph in just 1.9 miles before he began to decelerate. SSC still has plans to break the 300mph barrier, though.
Heart of the Fastest Production Car In The World
Powering the seriously-quick car is a 5.9L twin-turbo V8 producing a mammoth 1,750hp and 1,280 lb-ft when running on E85 fuel (as it was for the speed-record run – top speed is projected to fall to 295 mph running on 91-octane which drops the power rating to 1,350 horsepower).
The engine requires an impressive 11 heat exchangers, including a couple for the dedicated air-to-water intercooler system said to be capable of dropping boosted air temps by 160 to 200 degrees. Four radiators cool the engine, two cool the gearbox, one each takes care of the engine oil, power steering, and air conditioning. A seven-speed auto-clutch manual by Automac Engineering, which has its basis in a helicopter transmission, is the ‘box chosen for the Tuatara.
Well then, the talks are settled for now – the SSC Tuatara is, indeed, the Fastest Production Car In The World!
