SSC Tuatara smashes world car speed record

The American supercar SSC Tuatara has become the fastest production car in the world, exceeding 500 km / h.

The Bugatti Veyron launched in 2005 had become the first production car capable of exceeding 400 km / h. In 2019, Bugatti (again) broke the 300 mph (482.8 km / h) milestone with a pre-production Chiron Super Sport 300+ .

A new barrier has just fallen in the race for speed records and, this time, the performance is not to be credited to the French manufacturer . The SSC Tuatara has just become the fastest production car in the world, and the first to exceed 500 km / h.

On October 10, the small American manufacturer SSC (for Shelby Supercar, unrelated to the preparer Shelby) entrusted a copy of its coupe to the British driver Oliver Webb on a stretch of straight road of a little over 11km located in the Nevada in the United States .

At the end of two passages, namely one in each direction in less than an hour, and thanks to the measurements carried out among others by about fifteen satellites, the average maximum speed retained was 509.792 km / h.

La Tuatara in figures

The SSC Tuatara is a two-seater with a mid-rear engine whose 5.9L biturbo V8 develops 1.774hp when it is fueled with E85 (1.369hp unleaded 91 octane). This block with a flat crankshaft is capable of taking 8,800 rpm and sends its cavalry to the rear wheels only via a robotic seven-speed gearbox offering a manual mode.

4.43 m long and only 1.09 m high, the machine weighs 1,247 kg dry and benefits from a drag coefficient limited to 0.279 according to its designers . It is indeed a production vehicle since 100 copies must be produced, and sold at a unit base price of approximately 1.6 million dollars (1.35 million euros).

Record to beat

In its fastest passage, the Tuatara reached 532.93 km / h, the new speed record for a production car on public roads . In passing, the American broke the records for the “flying mile” (402m from the flying start) and the kilometer from the flying start on public roads, reaching 503.92 km / h and 517.16 km / h respectively.

According to Oliver Webb, the car is capable of doing even better, but crosswinds prevented the driver from reaching the limits of the car . Jerod Shelby, Founder and CEO of SSC, said: ” We are entering an era where we no longer have to face the limits of machines, but the human factor. “

It remains to be seen how long the SSC record will hold. Because another small American manufacturer of supercars has announced its intention to exceed 500 km / h.