SSC North America’s new Tuatara gasoline hypercar broke last year’s Bugatti Chiron speed record (490 km / h) and was able to accelerate to 508 km / h on the public road.
SSC North America from Richland (Washington) already has one speed record in the class of production cars: until 2010 it was held by the Ultimate Aero hypercar (412 km / h), after which this achievement was blocked by the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport – 431 km / h. In 2017, the fastest production car was the Koenigsegg Agera RS – 447 km / h. In 2019, the honorary title returned to Bugatti: the Chiron Super Sport 300+ model managed to accelerate to 490 km / h.
In February this year, SSC unveiled its new product, the Tuatara hypercar, and immediately promised a new speed record. No sooner said than done: On October 10, British racer Oliver Webb was driving a Tuatara near the town of Pahrump (Nevada) on a 7-kilometer straight section of regional highway No. 160 to accelerate to 508.73 km / h – this, according to the rules of setting records, the average speed from two attempts made in different directions of the track during one hour. The absolute maximum Tuatara in one of the two attempts is 532.93 km / h, and Webb claims that if it were not for the crosswind, then Tuatara could go even faster. Bugatti is thinking of releasing an “everyday” model. It will not be a sports car
SSC now officially claims the Tuatara’s “top speed” is 316 mph or 508 km / h. The acceleration time to the first “hundred” is still kept secret – one of the first owners of Tuatara will probably have to measure it on his own.
Recall that SSC intends to release only 100 copies of Tuatara at a price of $ 1,625,000. The famous Italian maestro Jason Castriota worked on the design of the carbon-fiber body, and aerodynamics specialists worked on the aerodynamics, thanks to which the Tuatara’s cx is only 0.279 (for the Bugatti Chiron – 0.38). We never stop trusting: the Bugatti Chiron reaches 490 km / h for a new record
The SSC Tuatara is powered by a 5.9-liter petrol V8 with two turbochargers, producing a maximum of 1,774 hp. All power is transmitted to the rear wheels through a 7-speed robotic gearbox from the Italian company CIMA.
How long will SSC Tuatara’s record last? Bugatti announced last year that it would no longer raise the bar, and now the fate of the French brand is in doubt – the Volkswgaen concern put it up for sale along with other toxic assets such as Lamborghini and Ducati.
A year ago, the American firm Hennessey Performance announced plans to set a speed record in the class of production cars that it is developing its own Venom F5 hypercar, the planned power of which has recently increased to 1,842 hp. – there are definitely chances. The Greek hypercar Spyros Panopoulos Chaos with a capacity of 3000 hp may also raise the stakes, but it has not yet been officially presented – we are waiting.