The Tuatara is Shelby Supercars’ (SSC) second vehicle set to take on the Bugatti Veyron.
Could the SSC Tuatara be the first car to break 300mph?
The Tuatara’s story started in 2010 with what was initially reported as a second generation of the Ultimate Aero. The automaker confirmed the Tuatara name for the vehicle in 2011. Development moved forward for the next several years but missed some intended debuts of the production-spec example. In early 2018, news arrived that the Tuatara was nearly complete, and the car made its much-anticipated debut on August 26, 2018.
In addition to the powerful engine, the Tuatara has a carbon fiber monocoque and body panels to keep the dry weight to 2,750 pounds (1,247 kilograms). The svelte shape has a drag coefficient of just 0.279. A robotized CIMA seven-speed gearbox can allegedly shift through the cogs in less than 100 milliseconds.
The Tuatara is powered by a 6.8L quad-cam, twin-turbo V8. The engine, like all the other mechanical parts, are all developed in-house by SSC themselves. The new powerplant shares a lot with the old 6.2 liter item – the block and its innards are the same design, so are the dimensions and location of its 10 radiators. Changes come in the form of a four-valves-per-cylinder overhead cam (OHC) setup as opposed to push rods and new SSC spec turbochargers. The new setup is good for a colossal 1350HP and will rev to 9000RPM! Zero to 62mph will arrive in around 2.8 seconds and SSC claims a top speed of 275mph!
SSC believes that the Tuatara might be able to top 300 mph (483 kph) and potentially retake the title as the world’s fastest production car by beating the 277.87-mph (447.19-kph) Koenigsegg Agera RS.
SSC intends to build just 100 units of the Tuatara. As of 2013, the company planned to charge $1.3 million for each example.
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