AUTOS: New Supercar Challenges Bugatti

 
The fastest production car in the world today is the hyper exclusive and hyper expensive Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, which has reached a top speed of 268 mph. The previous record holder was the less refined yet very capable Ultimate Aero from Shelby SuperCars, which itself stole the record from the original Veyron.

SSC is set to reclaim the title of world’s fastest production car from Bugatti with a brand new supercar revealed today that will go by the name Tuatara (pronounced twu-tar-ah). Yes, SSC has taken a page out of Pagani’s book and given its latest supercar a name almost as strange as Huayra, but there is reasoning behind the decision.
The name Tuatara was inspired by the Maori word for a lizard found in New Zealand. The Tuatara lizard boasts the fastest evolving DNA in the world, and this fast-paced evolution is something Shelby’s designers believe their new supercar encapsulates.

“Most manufacturers essentially use the same basic model and body shape for up to 10 years, while only making small refinements to it each year,” said Jerod Shelby, the founder of SSC in Tri-Cities, Wash., and unrelated to the famed Carroll Shelby. “After only three years in production with the Ultimate Aero, SSC’s Tuatara is about to monumentally evolve in the areas of sophistication, design, aerodynamics and shear all-around performance.

“We felt that the fastest evolving DNA was a perfect definition of SSC’s latest project.”

Along with the new name, SSC released specs for its upcoming supercar. The body will be composed entirely of carbon fiber and wrapped around a chassis made of the same stuff. The wheels will also be made from carbon fiber. The crash structures will be aluminum, however.

The engine will be a twin-turbocharged 7-liter V8 developing upwards of 1,350 horsepower, and drive will be sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed sequential manual with paddle-shifters. No mention of top speed, although a 275 mph figure has been circulating.

The photos are of a concept version of the car that was shown to select clientele earlier this year. It was penned by none other than Jason Castriota, the former Bertone stylist responsible for the Mantide and now head of design for Saab.