The fastest American production car ever made has delighted fans of speed and power with magnificent examples of four-wheeled vehicles. The XXI century marked the beginning of the history of fastest American car ever made, overcoming unthinkable technical limits.
High-speed giant of the global market
Meet SSC Tuatara. The brainchild of the American brand Shelby Super Cars, which positions itself as a manufacturer of super-fast sports cars. A prototype of this cool hypercar was presented to the world in 2011 during the opening of the company’s Asian dealer in Shanghai. SSC claims the Tuatara is a super-fast production car. The release started in 2014 and has not been discontinued yet.
Tuatara is the second supercar of the auto brand. The idea for its design arose after the world speed record, which was set in 2010 by a supercar competitor – Bugatti Veyron SS. And in October 2020, at home in Nevada, the SSC Tuatara set a new record, having received the status of the fastest among production models. The fixed speed is 508.73 km/h.
The hypercar is equipped with a twin-turbocharged eight-cylinder engine. Its power reaches an impressive 1350 hp. The mega-powerful engine is complemented by a 7-speed H-Pattern gearbox (mechanics) or a sequential (only allows sequential shifting) robotic SMG, which is complemented by a triple clutch disc.
The hypercar is “shod” not only stylishly, but also incredibly technological: specially developed for Tuatara carbon-ceramic brake discs and carbon wheels weighing 5.8 kg each. The hypercar is equipped with traction control and anti-lock braking system (ABS). The maximum speed that the model will be capable of in practice reaches 443 km/h. Acceleration to 100 km/h in 2.5 s.
The hypercar design is another source of pride for the company. The author is Jason Castriota (SAAB). Initially, the model had a different “name” until it was decided to change it to Tuatara – this is how the reptiles of the New Zealand islands are called (translated from Maori – “spikes on the back”).
And, indeed, on the back of the body of the hypercar there are wings similar to the spikes of a reptile. Another reason for the unusual name is the rapid change in the Tuatara DNA. The company wanted to show that the new model is unique – and not far from the truth.