SSC burst back onto the scene this weekend at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The US company revealed its new hypercar during a press conference at Peter Hay Hill. SSC briefly held the title of the world’s fastest production car with the Ultimate Aero. It looks as though they are hoping to re-capture it with the 300 mph SSC Tuatara!
The SSC Tuatara was designed by Jason Castriota, a former Pininfarina designer. It has been in the works since at least 2011 as a replacement for the Ultimate Aero. The design process has been slow, with the basic shape remaining the same since it’s initial unveiling a few years ago.
One of the benefits of that sleek bodywork is that the Tuatara gains a drag coefficient of just 0.279. Compared to the Bugatti Chiron’s 0.38 cd figure and the Koenigsegg Agera RS’ figure of around 0.37 cd, the Tuatara has an immediate advantage.
The body is constructed entirely from carbon fibre, together with the monocoque. SSC have partnered with Linder Power Systems for the assembly and fabrication of the later with the rest to be put together at SSC’s West Richland, Washington plant.
The SSC Tuatara will be powered by a 5.9 litre V8 engine developed in-house. The unit is rated to produce 1,750 hp running on E85 and 1,350 hp running on 91 octane fuel. It has been designed in collaboration with Nelson Racing Engines who will also handle the production unit’s construction. It will use twin-turbochargers and dual injection.
The transmission is a 7-speed automatic unit. The power will travel to the rear wheels and the whole package will weigh 1,247 kg. By comparison, the Chiron weighs ‎1,995 kg dry and the Agera RS, 1,395 kg. There are no performance figures at the moment, however, we suspect that SSC will target a 300 mph top speed and a sub-3 second 62 mph sprint.
Just 100 SSC Tuatara’s will be made available with deliveries expected next year.
