An American hypercar has smashed the top speed world record for a production car

[Shawn Knight]

Why it matters: Move over Koenigsegg, there’s a new name atop the world’s fastest production car list and it belongs to SSC North America, an American company based out of Richland, Washington, that specializes in the production of high-performance automobiles. There's fast, and then there's fast.

SSC North America on Monday said its Tuatara (pronounced twa-tar‐ah) hypercar recently broke the record for world’s fastest production vehicle. The feat took place on the morning of October 10, just outside of Las Vegas, on a seven-mile stretch of State Route 160. In accordance with record criteria, an average of two runs within an hour time frame was tallied, driving once in each direction.

Follow up: That SSC Tuatara world record video was misleading

With professional driver Oliver Webb at the wheel, the Tuatara turned in top speed runs of 301.07 mph and 331.15 mph, for an average of 316.11 mph. Webb said the car wasn’t running out of power, either. “The crosswinds are all that prevented us from realizing the car’s limit,” he noted.

Indeed, in an exclusive video published by Top Gear from one of the runs, the car seemingly hits 331 mph effortlessly. I suppose that’s what 1,750 horsepower and cutting-edge engineering will do for you.

Koenigsegg has held the top speed record since 2017 when its Agera RS hypercar turned in an average of 277.9 mph. It also did so on Nevada's Route 160, albeit on a longer 11-mile stretch.

Found is a TechSpot feature where we share clever, funny or otherwise interesting stuff from around the web.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/87189-ssc-tuatara-eclipses-330-mph-ease-smashing-world.html

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

It sounds like an old truck lmao

 

[dangh]

Is that car for sale or one hit wonder?

 

[Endymio]

Is that car for sale or one hit wonder?

To qualify as a "production car" model, it has to be available for sale.

 

[ZackL04]

“Butattis” ?

Let me guess, I can look but not touch

 

[QuantumPhysics]

I'm officially impressed.

And they did it on a Twin Turbocharged V8 with a 7 speed and just 1350 HP/ 1280 lb-ft Torque.

I personally want to know if Tesla can build a Hypercar that could achieve the same thing with the Model S. The PLAID mode exceeds 200 MPH and will pretty much kill any other production car in the 1/4th mile with the exception of a Demon.

I could see them pulling off 300.

 

[mhayen]

I'm officially impressed.

And they did it on a Twin Turbocharged V8 with a 7 speed and just 1350 HP/ 1280 lb-ft Torque.

I personally want to know if Tesla can build a Hypercar that could achieve the same thing with the Model S. The PLAID mode exceeds 200 MPH and will pretty much kill any other production car in the 1/4th mile with the exception of a Demon.

I could see them pulling off 300.

Maybe with a second gear.

 

[Endymio]

And they did it on a Twin Turbocharged V8 with a 7 speed and just 1350 HP/ 1280 lb-ft Torque.

1,750 actually ... it gets an additional 400 hp running on E85.

 

[Lounds]

Who cares how fast a car is in a straight line, unless it can go fast round a track top line speed means naff all as it might handle like crap round corners.

 

[SixTymes]

That is pretty amazing. Kudos to that driver. wow.

 

[Adhmuz]

That is pretty amazing. Kudos to that driver. wow.

And it was done on a stretch of state highway.

 

[kiwigraeme]

Strange name - probably not name after a pretty amazing lizard from NZ with it's origins from the Triassic period

 

[Cycloid Torus]

300% faster than my car.

 

[sreams]

Love the part at the end where 200mph seems soooo slow.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Guys the engineering to keep this thing stable at 500km/h is amazing and it looked so stress free for the car. This car got to it's Vmax very quickly and it looks like it could go even faster. Highly impressive from such a small company to take on and beat mega dollars manufacturers. As someone else saud though I'd love to see this race say a Porsche Turbo S around a challenging circuit like say Laguna Seca and see if it's a straight line warrior only or a real drivers car.

 

[GeforcerFX]

Wow second time they have done this they beat the Veyron with there ultimate aero back in the mid to late 2000's (which Bugatti made the SS version just to take back). I had heard about this car for nearly a decade, glad to see they delivered, sucks they are only doing 100 cars though.

 

[DonquixoteIII]

A Tuatara is a lizard native to New Zealand, and is remarkable for the vestigial third eye in the middle of its forehead.

 

[Privery]

As someone else saud though I'd love to see this race say a Porsche Turbo S around a challenging circuit like say Laguna Seca and see if it's a straight line warrior only or a real drivers car.

I think it will do ok on a track since it isn't super heavy (60% lighter than the chiron I believe) but if you're not careful with that rwd it might get squirelly out of corners.

 

[Badvok]

I personally want to know if Tesla can build a Hypercar that could achieve the same thing with the Model S. The PLAID mode exceeds 200 MPH and will pretty much kill any other production car in the 1/4th mile with the exception of a Demon.

I could see them pulling off 300.

But they'd never manage to beat the record because it would need charging between runs and that would exceed the 1 hour limit

 

[Peter Farkas]

Who cares how fast a car is in a straight line, unless it can go fast round a track top line speed means naff all as it might handle like crap round corners.

there is always someone salty about everything... the point of this was to see the car that is in production and is the fastest in the world. It was not the point to see the car that corners the best... that would be a different article...

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Who cares how fast a car is in a straight line, unless it can go fast round a track top line speed means naff all as it might handle like crap round corners.

That is backwards thinking. I care how fast it goes in a straight line and I don’t care how much it can do on a track because tracks are stupid. The vast majority of people who buy “race cars“ are buying street legal race cars in order to drive them on regular roads.

Lamborghini, McLaren, Bugatti, Ferrari, SRT, … Less than 1% of all buyers take their cars to a “track“.

 

[stewi0001]

Kind of reminds me of Adam West's batmobile

 

[Lounds]

That is backwards thinking. I care how fast it goes in a straight line and I don’t care how much it can do on a track because tracks are stupid. The vast majority of people who buy “race cars“ are buying street legal race cars in order to drive them on regular roads.

Lamborghini, McLaren, Bugatti, Ferrari, SRT, … Less than 1% of all buyers take their cars to a “track“.

Because you can go 200mph on the road legally and safely? Yeah didn't think so. People buy them as they're hand built assets that's go up in value and they have fun with them at the same time.

 

[Lounds]

there is always someone salty about everything... the point of this was to see the car that is in production and is the fastest in the world. It was not the point to see the car that corners the best... that would be a different article...

Fastest in a straight line lol, there's plenty of cars that would run laps round this car. Impressive in one category.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Because you can go 200mph on the road legally and safely? Yeah didn't think so. People buy them as they're hand built assets that's go up in value and they have fun with them at the same time.

"Legally"???

What's that mean?