SSC North America could not mean much for most of the people. But if you are a true motorhead Shelby SuperCars Inc. (which has no relations to car designer Carroll Shelby) will surely sound familiar to you for one good reason: one of the handful of car they produced, the Ultimate Aero TT, set and owned for 3 years straight the guinness world record as the fastest street-legal production car.
The record was set more than 10 years ago (in 2007) and now SSC team decided they want it back: since they have been working on the project since 2011 they must be very determined.
Designed by ex-Pininfarina designer Jason Castriota, the car takes inspiration from the aero space industry and is named after the reptile, found only in New Zealand, known for having the fastest molecular evolution of any living animal.
The car is expected to be produced in 100 models and it will be mounting a 5.9L biturbo V8 engine which will provide a variable power depending on the fuel the tank will be filled with: 1369 BHP with 91 octane gas, or 1774 BHP with the E85 mixture (85 per cent bioethanol and 15 per cent petrol).
The SSC team don’t compromise with the Tuatara: they aim to the 2019 new world speed record, threatening the current Koenigsegg Agera RS primacy of 277,87 mph and aspiring to a mindblowing 298 mph target (480 km/h). Their only rival is the upcoming Hennessey Venom F5 which is meanwhile being developed in Texas.
Guess it will be an exciting challenge.
