So, you thought the SSC Tuatara was mad powerful? And you were left impressed with their ACTUAL top-speed run. Well, meet its updated avatar. The US automaker has just revealed two new variants of the car, the Tuatara Striker and the Tuatara Aggressor. The current record holder of the world’s fastest production car, the Tuatara already generates a growling output of 1,750-horsepower. And the new models are based on its street-legal production variant with a single motive… step up the benchmark figures.
The Tuatara Striker gets a new fixed rear wing with an added active element, a vertical stabilizer, a large splitter, dive planes, vanned side rockers, and an augmented diffuser outback resulting in added downforce over the normal car. SSC claims approximately 1100 pounds of downforce across the car at 160 mph (that’s triple what the base car produces at the same speed). Seems like SSC want to run it upside down in a tunnel. And I wouldn’t doubt that they could do it with this car. The weight is distributed 45.4-percent front and 54.6-percent rear, “ensuring optimized balance, predictability, and exceptional confidence in stability,” according to SSC.
The powertrain remains the same which produces a 1750-hp suggesting top speed is down versus the standard car thanks to all the additional drag (SSC did not release performance figures for the Striker). On the inside, the Striker bears a unique character exclusive to the track variants. An optional exposed carbon fibre dash, along with extensive Alcantara configurations, give customers the ability to customize their Tuatara in an unparalleled scope, you know the drill.
The Tuatara Aggressor is a track-only variant that can also be ordered with a power upgrade option that bumps the output to mind bending 2200 hp. Read it again in words, TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED HORSEPOWER. It takes many of the upgrades found on the Striker and adds a bunch of customer bespoke options not available on the street-legal version, allowing buyers to customize nearly every aspect of the car to their liking.
The add-ons include things like five-point harnesses, racing buckets, and even a custom-tuned exhaust sound. Interior features reflect the carbon aesthetics of the track-exclusive carbon dash and roll structure, with expanded options including five-point race harnesses and racing seats customized to the customer.
The hypercars are designed in collaboration with luxury and performance automotive designer Jason Castriota, who penned the original design for the Tuatara’s high-speed body. The designer claims the Striker and Aggressor packages shift the perspective on what is possible with the Tuatara. “Taking the pure, slippery speed form of Tuatara and transforming into the ultimate track weapon was a dream assignment,” Castriota said.
“Every aesthetic change and aero element has a distinct purpose to create downforce with minimum drag penalty and the added benefit of giving the car an incredibly aggressive and purposeful aesthetic. All told we spent over 1000 hours in CFD to fine-tune the aero package which delivers nearly three times the downforce of the high speed package at 160 mph. The end result is a design that is equally dramatic and pure as the high speed record car, but with a unique character all its own.”
SSC says production of the Tuatara and its newly announced variants is already underway. The company plans to build only 100 units of the base and Striker versions combined, and another 10 Aggressors. Ready to be ordered, you can own one of these mad machines if you’re ready to lay down over $2 million. However, there’s a catch. The availabilities for purchase of all three models are limited and offered exclusively by SSC North America and its dealerships.
