Jeez! American SSC Tuatara supercar sets 316 mph speed record on Nevada highway

[STRADALE]

American supercar builder SSC unofficially reclaims world's fastest production car title

The Richland, Washington-based company has revealed that British racing driver Oliver Webb drove its $1.9 million Tuatara to the astonishing speed of 331.15 mph on a closed stretch of State Route 160 in Pahrump, Nev., on Oct. 10.

The carbon fiber coupe is powered by a 5.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 built by Nelson Racing Engines that can produce 1,750 hp running on E85 and 1,350 hp on 91 octane fuel.

The blistering velocity was achieved after a 301.07 mph run in the opposite direction, which gave Webb and the car a 316.11 mph average as required by most record-keeping authorities to account for wind and other factors.

The results smashed both the 277.9 mph average mark set by Swedish automaker Koenigsegg on the same road in 2017 and the 304.77 one-way speed reached by the Bugatti Chiron on VW's test track in Germany, neither of which was verified by an outside organization.

SSC (formerly known as Shelby Supercars after founder Jerod Shelby) has submitted its data to Guinness World Records, which previously recognized its earlier Ultimate Aero model as the world's fastest production car from 2007 to 2010 after 73-year-old pilot Chuck Bigelow drove it to a 256.14 average on a public road in Washington.

The Tuatara has been in development since 2011 and the car driven by Webb was the first customer car, which was delivered to its buyer late last year. The company plans to build 12 more through 2021 then no more than 25 annually until it reaches 100.

 

[KnightMare]

They can go 331 mph and you telling me the TRX can't get a 149 MPH tire made?

 

[Caliche]

They can go 331 mph and you telling me the TRX can't get a 149 MPH tire made?

Ah...but the powers to be (legal) probably didn’t want the liability?? I actually don’t have a clue but..... I’m sure you will figure something out.

 

[MAXGroup]

They can go 331 mph and you telling me the TRX can't get a 149 MPH tire made?

There is a difference between a one off run and a street legal car. I bet you the first thing they did after finishing that world record run was to chuck the 4 special tires they had on for that run to the garbage and installed a fresh roadworthy set before giving the car back to the owner. More important the tires used on that run never saw a gravel driveway let alone off road use.
My point is it is a lot harder to make tires that will be both fast and not cave in after the first outing to grandma's house in the forest then you would think....

 

[Brotharon]

There is a difference between a one off run and a street legal car. I bet you the first thing they did after finishing that world record run was to chuck the 4 special tires they had on for that run to the garbage and installed a fresh roadworthy set before giving the car back to the owner. More important the tires used on that run never saw a gravel driveway let alone off road use.
My point is it is a lot harder to make tires that will be both fast and not cave in after the first outing to grandma's house in the forest then you would think....

This, and, despite the fact that I do live my life 1/4 mile at a time, I do not think that I need to go 150mph+ in an offroad pickup truck. YMMV, but there are vehicles for that and they come with the tires to do the job. Despite the fact that my truck will spend more time in parking lots and my driveway than on the sand dunes, I think that they picked the correct tire for the truck's purpose. Additionally, if you want to turn it into a 1/2 mile dragster I am sure that you could get some nice slick radials and burn down the drag strip!

 

[KnightMare]

There is a difference between a one off run and a street legal car. I bet you the first thing they did after finishing that world record run was to chuck the 4 special tires they had on for that run to the garbage and installed a fresh roadworthy set before giving the car back to the owner. More important the tires used on that run never saw a gravel driveway let alone off road use.
My point is it is a lot harder to make tires that will be both fast and not cave in after the first outing to grandma's house in the forest then you would think....

The tri-motor cybertruck is going to have a top speed of 130MPH with 35" Goodyears...

 

[Brotharon]

The tri-motor cybertruck is going to have a top speed of 130MPH with 35" Goodyears...

and look like the truck that DeLorean would have made while doing it...so, it really only needs to get to 88mph

 

[KnightMare]

They tried again and still can't get to 300 mph. All kinds of excuses this time

SSC Tuatara falls short in new land-speed record attempt, will run again

The SSC Tuatara made another land-speed record attempt, but couldn't top 251 mph due to engine issues

www.motorauthority.com

 

[STRADALE]

They tried again and still can't get to 300 mph. All kinds of excuses this time

SSC Tuatara falls short in new land-speed record attempt, will run again

The SSC Tuatara made another land-speed record attempt, but couldn't top 251 mph due to engine issues

www.motorauthority.com

They hit over 300mph the first time, the video that was released was inaccurate not the run. This time they ran 252mph on 6 cylinders

 

[KnightMare]

Technically they didn't, a bunch of people looked over the footage and compared it against Bugatti and Koenigsegg top speed runs in the same location. They believe it only went 220ish based on counting the time between road markers in the footage.

And then in this article at the end they tried to verify the 6 cylinder story with the CEO that was actually driving the car but have not confirmed it. This company has so many question marks with it.

 

[STRADALE]

Technically they didn't, a bunch of people looked over the footage and compared it against Bugatti and Koenigsegg top speed runs in the same location. They believe it only went 220ish based on counting the time between road markers in the footage.

And then in this article at the end they tried to verify the 6 cylinder story with the CEO that was actually driving the car but have not confirmed it. This company has so many question marks with it.

Yeah, they were saying possible only 243mph but there’s no way that was a 220 mph run. I‘ve run 223 in the standing mile, for the power, gearing, revs & drag, 220mph is bottom of 5th gear in the Tuatura. In the first run they were 8600 rpm in 6th. You can’t compare location footage & get a top speed, that can only give you an average speed covered over a distance, unless you hold that top speed long enough which they didnt, even then it’s a very rough guesstimate.

They were over 300mph especially on the 3rd run, did they hit 316 mph avg both directions? I also don’t believe they would have played with the sat speedometer to make it 110 mph over (220 mph vs 331 mph) what they were traveling, especially with also using GPS, satellite tracking, two Racelogic systems including a VBox, a Life Racing tracking system, and three Garmin systems. No one would be that stupid. Did they screw up the steps needed for official verification of a record? Definitely. Will they try again & make it official? I think so.

 

[KnightMare]

In this video, which spawned all the controversy, breaks it down. I'll have to find the other article about the average speed but this one estimates the car went like 280 top speed. Then when you compare footage, you can see a 265 MPH Koenigsegg going faster when the Tuatara is claiming to go up to 330 MPH and is waiting for the vehicle to catch up when it crossed the same marker.

The first run didn't use all those GPS devices, just 1. And that company won't validate the data

 

[STRADALE]

In this video, which spawned all the controversy, breaks it down. I'll have to find the other article about the average speed but this one estimates the car went like 280 top speed. Then when you compare footage, you can see a 265 MPH Koenigsegg going faster when the Tuatara is claiming to go up to 330 MPH and is waiting for the vehicle to catch up when it crossed the same marker.

The first run didn't use all those GPS devices, just 1. And that company won't validate the data
View attachment 1988
View attachment 1987

That’s why I said originally, the video, the one you posted is inaccurate, explains it here:

 

[STRADALE]

But I guess we will see. Being a red blooded American patriot I’m rooting for them! And love seeing speed records broken! One thing is for sure they believe they can do it. Even at 280mph (if that was avg. both directions) that would be a record. Guinness had SSC’s previous care the Ultimate Aero with the world speed record for 3 years at 256 mph & the Tuatura is on another level

The "Fastest Production Car" in the world.
Guinness World RecordsTM verified today that Shelby SuperCars’ (SSC) Ultimate Aero is officially the "Fastest Production Car" in the world. This is the first time the production speed record title has been held by a United States auto manufacturer since the Ford GT40 claimed the record in 1967. Guinness’ strict testing procedure required the car to drive down the course, turn around, and make a second pass in the opposite direction within one hour. The vehicle’s official "top speed" was then calculated by averaging the top speeds of each pass in order to negate any favorable road or weather conditions. Driver Chuck Bigelow, 71, drove SSC’s Ultimate Aero on a stretch of highway 221, clocking 414.31 kph (257.44 mph) on the first pass and 410.24 kph (254.91 mph) on the second pass to yield an official record speed of 412.28 kph (256.18 mph). From data presented by Dewetron’s world-renowned data acquisition system, Guinness officials verified the official speed to be .52 kph (.32 mph) faster than SSC had originally noted. This breaks the current official record held by the Koenigsegg CCR at 388 kph by 24.28 kph (15.09 mph) and the Bugatti Veyron's unofficial speed of 408.47 kph by 5.84 kph (3.63 mph).

 

[KnightMare]

But I guess we will see. Being a red blooded American patriot I’m rooting for them! And love seeing speed records broken! One thing is for sure they believe they can do it. Even at 280mph (if that was avg. both directions) that would be a record.

They are suppose to use a NASA runway the next run in the next couple months. They have to get it right because so many eyes will be on them....

 

[STRADALE]

They are suppose to use a NASA runway the next run in the next couple months. They have to get it right because so many eyes will be on them....

I hope they can do it. Its not NASA but we have fun; 10,000 ft/about 1.9 miles.

 

[KnightMare]

They did it again... Just not 316 yet

The 1,750 HP SSC Tuatara Sets a Production-Car Speed Record—This Time for Real

After October’s results were doubted, the hypercar went again on January 17 and averaged 282.9 mph after two runs verified by Racelogic.

robbreport.com

 

[Caliche]

They did it again... Just not 316 yet

The 1,750 HP SSC Tuatara Sets a Production-Car Speed Record—This Time for Real

After October’s results were doubted, the hypercar went again on January 17 and averaged 282.9 mph after two runs verified by Racelogic.

robbreport.com

Yeah the crazy thing is that it is the owner of the car that drove it. Pretty impressive...

 

[STRADALE]

It’s really impressive especially w/ the customer driver (a dentist, lol), reduced boost & only 1.9 miles to work with this time before the braking zone vs. 7 miles in Nevada. Congrats Dr. Larry!
——————————————-
During the first pass on Jan. 17 the car pushed 24 pounds of boost in 6th and 7th gears. This, teamed with E85 fuel, gave the car approximately 1,500 hp and 1,070 lb-ft of torque. For the second run, also on E85, the engine output was upped to the full 1,750 hp and 1,322 lb-ft of torque at 7,000 rpm as the car used the full 28 pounds of boost during the second half of 7th gear.

Caplin and the Tuatara hit the top speed of 286.1 mph in 1.9 miles and hit 244 mph in one mile. It took 2.87 seconds for the Tuatara to accelerate from 274 to 286 mph. "At 275 mph this car is accelerating ten times faster than any other production car in the world," engine builder Tom Nelson said.

Shelby said he's less concerned with what other manufacturers are doing and more concerned with finding out the true capabilities of the Tuatara. Shelby told MA that SSC will make further attempts in the coming months to improve upon the record, and this is considered part of ongoing high-speed testing. The CEO expects the car to top 300 mph with the full 28 pounds of boost in 5th, 6th, and 7th gears in the same 2.3-mile stretch.

SSC Tuatara sets land-speed record for production cars at 282.9 mph

After its third try, the SSC Tuatara has set a new production-car land-speed record of 282.9 mph verified by Racelogic GPS tracking data.

www.motorauthority.com