Top Gear can exclusively reveal that Shelby SuperCars (SSC) North America has set a new top speed record for a production car, hitting a v-max of 331mph and setting a two-way average of 316.11mph on a seven-mile stretch of closed road just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Before you read any further, we recommend you hit play above and climb on board for the outrageous 0-331mph run. Top Gear is being granted this exclusive footage from the guys that are making the full feature-length documentary of this epic endeavour, landing later in the year.
Picked your jaw up off the floor yet? Good. Just when we thought 2020 couldn’t get any more surreal, Team America smashes Bugatti’s 304.77mph set in that go-faster Chiron at Ehra-Lessien. Better than that, on Saturday 10 October, SSC did it in two directions – something the Chiron failed to do – stealing the crown off Bugatti and once again beating the hypercar glitterati fair and square. Just like it did way back in 2007.
To hit an average speed of 316.11 mph (508.73 km/h), British racing driver Oliver Webb got behind the wheel, pointed the nose at the horizon and pinned it down the two-lane highway. On his first run he hit 301.07 mph (484.53 km/h) – spicy speeds in anyone’s book, but not good enough for an official world record.
So he turned the car around and did exactly the same in the other direction, this time not letting his foot off the throttle until he hit 331.15 mph (532.93 km/h), good enough for an average of 316.11mph to make the SSC Tuatara the fastest production vehicle on the planet.
The straight section of State Route 160 between Las Vegas and Pahrump may ring a bell, especially if you’re a speed freak. It’s the same bit of tarmac made famous by Koenigsegg in 2017, when it claimed the title of world’s fastest production car from SSC’s previous creation, the Ultimate Aero (which hit 255.83mph on a closed road in Washington State in 2007, itself taking the title from the Bugatti Veyron).
The Swedish Agera RS posted a two-way average of 277.9mph in Nevada, with a w-max of 284.55mph. SSC has just added nearly 40mph on top of that average. Stop and think about that for a second. Now breathe.
Just what the hell is the SSC Tuatara? Well, it first broke cover in 2011 as the replacement for the Ultimate Aero. Since its inception Top Gear has been following its progress and exclusively drove the development car last year, and unsurprisingly, we found it to be rather brisk to drive.
Built in Richlands, Washington, USA, the 1,247kg hypercar is powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.9-litre flat-plane crank V8 producing 1,750 horsepower. But power only gets you so far. The Tuatara’s crazy v-max comes in no small part from the outlandish design of its carbon fibre bodywork. That bit is the work of Jason Castriota, he of Maserati Birdcage Concept, Ferrari P4/5, Ford Mach-E and Saab Phoenix fame. From the outset, Castriota stressed the focus on delivering a crazy 0.279 drag coefficient and an aero-centric philosophy. The Tuatara’s slinky ability to pierce through the air effectively is obvious towards the end of the run; the Tuatara furiously blasts from 250-300mph and beyond, not pausing for breath. Now check out Bugatti’s run – where the Chiron is headbutting an aerodynamic wall.
Having completed the run (and Amazon Prime’d a larger pair of undercrackers to house his new, plumper cajones), Brit Oli Webb had this to say: “There was definitely more in there. And with better conditions, I know we could have gone faster, as I approached 331 mph, the Tuatara climbed almost 20mph within the last five seconds. The car wasn’t running out of steam yet. The crosswinds are all that prevented us from realising the car’s limit.”
Watching this film and processing the numbers it’s hard to imagine it ever being bettered. After all, it was 13 years ago that SSC stunned the automotive nobility when it set the production car speed record by hitting 255, taking the title from Bugatti with the added validation of Guinness. Now, thanks to being a production vehicle, having a two-way average, being on the public road, and having certified GPS data and two world-record sanctioned witnesses on site while running street tyres and non-race fuel, they’ve won again: fair and square.
“It’s been ten years since we held this record with our first car, the Ultimate Aero, and the Tuatara is leagues ahead. Its performance reflects the dedication and focus with which we pursued this achievement,” said Jerod Shelby, CEO of SSC. “We came pretty close to meeting the theoretical numbers, which is astonishing to do in a real world setting on a public road.
“America’s new claim to victory in the ‘land-based space race’ is going to be tough to beat,” he added.
SSC might well have just put the full stop at the end of the hypercar speed equation, but in a market were fastest is best and egos are big, we’re sure it won’t be taken lying down. We may need a bigger planet. Your move Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Hennessey…
It's a technical marvel and beautiful to boot. The funny thing is, it's still accelerating well at 300+ but the driver was concerned with cross winds. She might be capable of 350mph.
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October 20, 2020, 09:30 AM
HRK
quote:
The straight section of State Route 160 between Las Vegas and Pahrump may ring a bell, especially if you’re a speed freak. It’s the same bit of tarmac made famous by Koenigsegg in 2017, when it claimed the title of world’s fastest production car from SSC’s previous creation, the Ultimate Aero (which hit 255.83mph on a closed road in Washington State in 2007, itself taking the title from the Bugatti Veyron).
I was on a motorcycle trip which was in Las Vegas in 2017, part of the route that day was State Route 160, the road they ran the speed test on for the Koenigsegg.
Several people in the group went a different route because they thought the road would be closed all day, but a few of us wanted to see the run if we could. Missed it by just about an hour....
Damned if they didn't hit the top speed early before we got there and had wrapped it up and left.
October 20, 2020, 10:19 AM
Sig209
did you read the part about the tires??
holy cow !!
nothing like exceeding your speed rating of your tires by 100 mph ... woah
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October 20, 2020, 10:25 AM
Georgeair
Well hell, that road's downhill both ways. I could take my car out there and hit at least......
bucktwenty before I started having serious second thoughts!
He didn't even get into the throttle until after upshifting at over 200.
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October 20, 2020, 10:30 AM
vinnybass
quote:
Originally posted by Georgeair: Well hell, that road's downhill both ways. I could take my car out there and hit at least......
bucktwenty before I started having serious second thoughts!
It really is. It's about ten miles between those crests, then still straight for several more miles after the crest on the way into Pahrump. I'm on it every other week. It's the road I take to the turn-off to my cabin.
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October 20, 2020, 12:50 PM
TRIO
Wow! That is just over 40% of the speed of sound.
Are tire manufacturers going to revamp the tire speed ratings to cover these higher speeds? Perhaps adding upward with existing codes.. VVF = 149+149+50 = 348 MPH
October 20, 2020, 01:14 PM
powermad
All of these Hypercars are cool as hell. Koenigsegg also has the Jesko Absolut that hasn't made a speed run yet but it's said the goal is 310 MPH and they have no plans to build anything faster.
October 20, 2020, 01:55 PM
Hound Dog
Beautiful car, though these hyper-cars are starting to all look alike (same reasons that the F-15/Su-27 and F-18/MiG-29 jet fighters, the US and Soviet Space Shuttles, and the Concorde/Tu-144 SSTs all looked alike - the laws of aerodynamics are universal (not implying industrial espionage) (not ruling it out, either).
I wondered why he didn't push it more, until I saw the video. He was bouncing around a bit before he even hit a 'mere' 200mph.
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October 20, 2020, 01:59 PM
P250UA5
Saw elsewhere that the driver said that he got hit with 2 strong crosswinds that moved the car almost onto the rumble strips.
I imagine that's pucker factor of 10+ at 300mph.
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October 20, 2020, 09:26 PM
1s1k
Wow no exotic crazy engine. Looks like a good ole pushrod engine as a starting point.
The driver might be half crazy because if a tire blows out he probably dies since there’s no cage. The car would most likely go off the road and start tumbling into a mess.
October 20, 2020, 09:32 PM
Boss1
Like how he passed the fire truck and ambulance on the way out...
That's crazy fast at 0 FT. AGL.
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October 20, 2020, 10:02 PM
bigdeal
Almost as interesting, check out the owner/builder of the car. Not unlike a lot of these guys, he's quite the character. I watched an interview with him and was highly entertained. As for the car, I dig fast, but that's a bit more than I'd be willing to turn lose.
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October 20, 2020, 10:43 PM
jimmy123x
quote:
Originally posted by SIG4EVA: It's a technical marvel and beautiful to boot. The funny thing is, it's still accelerating well at 300+ but the driver was concerned with cross winds. She might be capable of 350mph.
The speed at which the MPH was increasing, I'd say it has plenty of ponies left in the go pedal.
October 20, 2020, 10:45 PM
cas
quote:
production car
Much like the speeds they achieve, on the cutting edge of that definition. LOL You can't get any farther from a production car and pretend it still is than that thing.
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October 20, 2020, 10:50 PM
Orguss
quote:
Originally posted by cas:
quote:
production car
Much like the speeds they achieve, on the cutting edge of that definition. LOL You can't get any farther from a production car and pretend it still is than that thing.
As long as they produce 25 examples for those high-end collectors to buy, it'll qualify as a production vehicle.
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October 20, 2020, 10:54 PM
Beancooker
That was pretty impressive. What a car!
quote:
Originally posted by sigmonkey: I'd fly to Turks and Caicos with live ammo falling out of my pockets before getting within spitting distance of NJ with a firearm.
October 20, 2020, 11:11 PM
bigdeal
quote:
Originally posted by Orguss:
quote:
Originally posted by cas:
quote:
production car
Much like the speeds they achieve, on the cutting edge of that definition. LOL You can't get any farther from a production car and pretend it still is than that thing.
As long as they produce 25 examples for those high-end collectors to buy, it'll qualify as a production vehicle.
From what I've previously read, they have paid deposits for every one of the first run of production vehicles. Plenty of people with deep pockets and a need for exclusivity.
----------------------------- Guns are awesome because they shoot solid lead freedom. Every man should have several guns. And several dogs, because a man with a cat is a woman. Kurt Schlichter
