After years of development, the SSC Tuatara is finally coming out in 2019. Many critics thought the project died in its tracks, but SSC North America endured and pushed through.
The company has been releasing a series of short clips in the past month, showing the SSC Tuatara driving on various roads, presumably around Washington. The videos are short – just 10 to 20 seconds each, but seeing the car rolling is enough to get us excited.
After all, we don’t see an all-American hypercar come out too often. And this is a special one because SSC will be aiming at a new top speed world record – above the 300 mph barrier.
We don’t have an official statement from SSC North America, but with the legacy of the Ultimate Aero and cars that come out once in a decade, what else are they going to do.
Since 2017, the Koenigsegg Agera RS holds the title of fastest production car in the world achieving a top speed of 277.87 mph.
At the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, we saw the launch of the Koenigsegg Jesko – the latest Swedish hypercar and the descendant of the track-focused Agera RS. A variant called Jesko 300 will be tuned for breaking the 300 mph barrier and potentially setting a new speed record.
So, it looks like the race will be decided between the Koenigsegg Jesko and the SSC Tuatara. And it’s closer than you think.
1. Both cars will use a twin-turbo, flat-plane crank V8 engine with similar output – 1,750 hp for the Tuatara vs 1,600 for the Jesko – both on E85 fuel.
2. Both cars use carbon fiber construction. However, the Tuatara weights some 300-400 lbs less than the Jesko.
3. Both cars put a big focus on aerodynamics. The Tuatara boasts an impressive coefficient of drag – 0.279, surpassing all of its competitors. The Jesko 300 will have its aerodynamics optimized, reducing the massive rear wing – trading downforce for top speed.
4. Both companies have held the record for the fastest production car. Prior to the Agera RS, Koenigsegg also set a record in 2004 with the CCR at 241.009 mph. The SSC Ultimate Aero took the title in 2007 with 256.18 mph.
In between, Bugatti also held the title twice with different versions of the Veyron, but it looks like they will skip this round.
On paper, it sounds like the Tuatara has the advantage, however, the car has been in development for so long. Meanwhile, Koenigsegg launched 3 distinct hypercars with 5 different versions of the Agera.
Even though won’t see either car on the track (or road) for some months, we can’t help but get hyped up.