2012 SSC Tuatara

2012 SSC Tuatara

The battle for the title of “World’s Fastest Production car” has just heated up – again. And this time its round two of the classic David vs. Goliath encounter: diminutive Shelby Super Cars taking on the might of VW-owned Bugatti. American one man show SSC, forced the world to take them seriously after the original Ultimate Aero snatched the title away from the Veyron with a run of 256mph, recorded on a four-mile-long Texas single carriageway that featured a dogleg bend that needed to be navigated at “just” 210mph. The man at the wheel was 71 year old Chuck Bigelow who had no racing experience and refused to wear even a crash helmet.

Hitting back, the Veyron Super Sport took to VW’s ultra-modern, ultra-smooth and wide Ehra Lessien test track, with a pro driver at the wheel and crowd of engineers at their beck and call. The result was an impressive 267mph from the 1200HP special edition.

The numbers on paper are staggering enough – even before getting to actual performance times and stats. The proposed record breaker is powered by a quad-cam, twin-turbo V8 displacing 6.8 liters. 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, wait for it, 275mph! The in gear acceleration figures are not known as of yet, but you can be sure they will be absolutely mind blowing. Thank goodness the new car will feature traction control, ABS with servo assistance, and Brembo carbon ceramic stoppers. We can’t even begin to imagine letting that kind of power loose on public roads without fear of being apprehended by the long arm of the law while experiencing acceleration that will rip your face off. This thing should sound the way it goes – an all turbo whoosh and snarling, angry V8.

Because it’s RWD rather than 4WD like our friend the Veyron, it’s lighter...much lighter. The Aero II weighs 1200kgs, a full 638kgs lighter than the comparatively pudgy Bugatti – and it produces more power. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the power to weight ratio is over 1000HP per tonne, putting it in the league of the Caparo T1. Where the Bugatti is luxurious, refined, and civilized to drive, the Aero II is raucous, unforgiving, and about as scary as a getting a shave from Edward Scissorhands.

Suspension remains as the same coilover setup and so does the triple plate carbon clutch. Whether it’s as good at going round corners as it is in a straight line still remains to be seen. One thing is for certain though, it will set your trousers on fire every time you use the pedal on the right.

2012 SSC Tuatara

2012 SSC Tuatara