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.
Considering
all that Bugatti have at their disposal compared to Jerod Shelby and
his band of 16 engineers – that work from a garage behind his house –
you begin to realize the magnitude of their accomplishments. Now they
have unveiled their new creation, a 1350HP RWD beast that’s yet to be
officially named. For convenience, we’ll just call it the Aero II.
UPDATE 10/18/2011:
SSC continues to characterize a few last sub-assemblies from the
Ultimate Aero for transfer into the final Tuatara performance package.
Their latest video shows the car making 0 to 200 mph sprints in order
for engineers to test new gear ratio specs on the transmission. SSC was surprised at how quickly the Ultimate
Aero reached 200 MPH, but more importantly, the team has now determined
what they feel is the perfect gear ratios for the new 7-speed Tuatara
transmission.
UPDATE 11/11/2011: SSC
has finally unveiled the official details on the Tuatara’s exquisite
interior. Full details can be found after the jump, but you can check
out the new images, as well as the new video, for a quick tutorial!
UPDATE 12/06/2011:
Despite Tuatura’s huge $1.3 million price tag, Shelby Supercars has
managed to sell an impressive 10 units during the 2011 Dubai
International Motor Show. So, $13 million in just five days? Not bad for
Shelby. Financial crisis? What crisis? (Gulf News)
Production in West Richland, Washington:- Shelby Supercars’ Aero TT was manufactured in several locations in Washington, California, and Arizona, but Shelby’s home-based operation in West Richland is the sole locations for the production of the Tuatara SSC.
In order to achieve
this, the company plans on building a 27,000 square-foot plant in the
southern Washington town. The new building would be a manufacturing and
sales facility, with about one-fifth of the complex devoted to a
business office and showroom, with a view of the production area
available from a mezzanine and 55 parking spaces. It would have a
maximum height of 30 feet.
The new plant will offer
54 jobs within the next five years, with a future potential of up to 200
jobs. The median pay at the plant would be about $40 an hour.
Exterior Design:-
The outgoing Ultimate Aero was very generic in its
looks. The body, like the rest of the car, was designed by company owner
Jerod Shelby (no relation to muscle car legend Carroll Shelby).
He admits that the need for slippery aerodynamics governed the outcome
of the final product and being an engineer by trade, design wasn’t his
greatest strength. Enter Italian American designer Jason Castriota
who, in the beginning, had reservations about taking on the project. We
couldn’t really blame him after looking at his impressive resume. He
has penned cars for the very best in the industry: Ferrari, Pininfarina, Rolls Royce, and Bertone
to name but a few. The last thing his career needed was to design a car
destined for failure for a small company with more hopes than money or
brains. After a visiting the facility and getting to know the staff and
more importantly, their ideals and the car, he took the plunge and
created what you see before you.
The outcome is breathtaking, especially once you peel
the body work away to reveal how technically challenging it was to
overcome the dreaded forces of nature at 200+mph, whilst packaging the
required mechanical components. It is the ultimate example of form
meeting function, to create a harmonious whole. We like the black
teardrop shaped canopy that sits on top of the white exterior, creating a
stunning contrast of power and beauty. The shape is classic and
pivotal, and has a very low drag co-efficient. The car features dihedral
stabilizers or wings that have been borrowed from the realm of
aviation. The term “flying buttress” might be construed as a being a bit
naughty, but they are actually wings that help support the structure of
the car. In this case, they are those bits on the side of the SSC Aero
II, which channel air towards the engine intakes – a Castriota design
signature. (pictured below)
The front looks intimidating and purposeful with its low
slung nose and carbon fiber headlights. Looking closely, you’ll notice
venting for the carbon brakes and a cohesive front splitter that
generates enough downforce to keep the nose planted at speed. There is
no hood or luggage space, or any kind of compromise with this car. The
side profile is sleek and sexy – there are no door handles or side
repeaters and the car barely stands over a meter tall. Massive lower
recesses house air intakes in front of the rear wheel arches and feed
the ravenous engine and cooling radiators with much-needed cold air,
while doing its bit to balance the look. It checks all the hypercar
boxes and then some. Elements of the first Aero are maintained, most
notably the party piece doors and simple-spoked wheel design. The latter
being the first ever one piece carbon fiber wheels ever fitted to a
car. They are products of Australian company, Carbon Revolution, and the
19" fronts weigh just 5.8kg each.
The entire body and chassis, save for front and rear
impact zones, are all made from carbon fiber - further emphasizing
lightness as key. This is not necessarily for top speed, but more for
everyday driving and handling. All mid-engined cars require apertures in
the bodywork to help get rid of heat – they usually take the form of
slats or louvers but since this car is anything but, it features
circular cut outs in various diameters to expel heat and generate pub
controversy. Moving to the other-worldly rear, dynamics take over, with
aesthetics playing second fiddle. The entire under floor of the car is
sealed leading up to the rear which functions as the mother of all
diffusers, complete with F1-style exhaust. From this angle, it does bear
slight resemblance to an R8
and by slight, we mean slight – the proportions and shapes are similar.
Between the rear stabilizers is a hydraulically operated air brake –
ala Bugatti Veyron and Merc SLR
that comes into play at higher-than-allowed speeds. Dimension wise, the
Aero II is slightly more narrow than before to comply with FIA GT
regulations, should they decide to race it.
Interior:-
This futuristic interior was developed following the
aerospace design found on the exterior. In fact, many of the interior
elements found on the Tuatara resemble specific elements of the
exterior. For example, the two small, informational HUD displays
situated on the left and right of the driver are inspired by the
Tuatara’s rear winglets and the central AC vents were inspired by the
Tuatara’s twin central exhausts. The holes pattern on the top of the
central console area are inspired by the hole patterns on the Tuatara’s
exterior body panels and the door pulls even have their exterior
counterpart in the flying buttresses from the rear sides of the car.
Design
aside, the Tuatara’s interior was built for optimum information
gathering. The HUD displays previously mentioned are joined by a main
gauge cluster area that is in fact a glass screen is lit up by Pico
projectors and is similar to a HUD (Heads Up Display). The right HUD
will offer information on the current gear of the car, while the left
HUD will let the driver choose the info he needs using a menu on the
central command console.
A "Start" button will
initiate a clockwise-motion lighting sequence on the red lights located
around the start button. When all these lights turn on the engine will
start. The central console features buttons located near the touch
screen and help the driver to control functions like traction control,
driving modes, etc.
Even the front passenger can stay
well-informed in the Tuatara as SSC has included two small screens that
provide him details on the current speed, RPM, or BHP.
One
of the best features of the interior, however, is the seven-speed
H-pattern manual gear shift designed after classic exotics. An automatic
unit will also be offered in a steering column mounted seven-speed
paddle shifter.
Performance:-
Do you really have to ask? 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.
Competition:-
In short, there is none other competition except for the
Veyron SS and it costs $2.4 million, more than twice the price of the
$970,000 Aero II. You could also buy a Koenigsegg Agera,
but the price is unconfirmed and so is the top speed. The cars should
be closely pegged, but we guess it depends on personal preference and if
you’re into the whole “mine’s bigger than yours” thing. Let’s hope the
Aero II will not squeak, rattle, or fall apart like so many other cars
made by small firms in small numbers. The first cars will be delivered
to their proud new owners around the last quarter of 2011.
Only time will tell whether SSC will bring the top speed crown back to the US.
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