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SSC North America

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"Shelby Super Cars" redirects here. For the company formed by Carroll Shelby, see Carroll Shelby International.

SSC North America
FormerlyShelby Supercars
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1999 (1999)
FounderJerod Shelby
Headquarters
Richland, Washington
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsSports cars
OwnerJerod Shelby
Websitewww.sscnorthamerica.com

SSC North America (formerly Shelby SuperCars Inc.) is an American automobile manufacturer founded in 1999[1] by owner Jerod Shelby. The company is based in Richland, in the Tri-Cities, Washington and specializes in the production of sports cars.

History

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  • 1998 - Company founded by current CEO Jerod Shelby.
  • 2004 - First SSC Ultimate Aero prototype completed at company headquarters in West Richland, WA.
  • 2006 - Ultimate Aero sets record on Road & Track magazine's slalom course, breaking previous record held by the Ferrari Enzo.
  • September 13, 2007 - SSC Ultimate Aero sets record for fastest production vehicle as verified by Guinness World Records, reaching a top speed 412 km/h (256 mph) averaged over two runs in opposite directions (414.31 km/h (257 mph) and 410.24 km/h (255 mph)).
  • 2008 - SSC announced plans to unveil the Ultimate Aero EV (Electric Vehicle). SSC expects to roll out its first prototype in February 2009.[2] The car was advertised in the original press release as rechargeable in 10 minutes from a 240 V outlet, which has been criticized as impossible in some articles. The press release has since changed.[3]
    • July 10, 2008 - SSC announced it would open its Dubai showroom in February 2009.[4]'
  • August 23, 2010 - A USA Today article details the rivalry between Shelby and Bugatti for the title of World's fastest Car and CEO Jerod Shelby announces a next generation version of the SSC Ultimate Aero is in the works.[5]
  • July 17, 2011 - SSC announces their next generation sports car has been named Tuatara (pronounced two-are-tah‐rah). It uses a proprietary 6.9 liter V8 engine and is said to produce a rated output of 1350 hp and a maximum output of 1700 hp.[6][7]
  • 2012 - Shelby SuperCars changes their name to SSC North America as a result of a settlement with Carroll Shelby Licensing and Carroll Shelby International.[8]
    • August 2012 - SSC announces a special edition of the SSC Ultimate Aero called XT. With the new SSC Tuatara on its way, SSC is retiring the SSC Ultimate Aero ending its production with a limited special edition. To celebrate its run SSC is launching the final special edition named SSC Ultimate Aero XT. The car will be built in a limited run of just five examples and will utilize some key assemblies that will feature in the SSC Tuatara, for instance, SSC's proprietary developed 6.9 liter all-aluminum twin-turbo V8 engine unit and several other features to go along with the new engine unit such as enhanced cooling, transmission upgrades as well as a seven-speed paddle-shifted gearbox. The engine is officially rated at 1,300 horsepower and 1,004 pound-feet of torque.[9][10]
  • 2013 - A Prototype SSC Tuatara is unveiled at the Dubai International Motor Show and titled the "Crown Jewel" of the event.
  • 2015 - Last Ultimate Aero XT is delivered and production of the model is completed.
  • 2018 - SSC North America announces release of 2019 SSC Tuatara at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
  • 2019 - Tuatara production underway with first deliveries anticipated for Q3 2019.[11]
  • January 2020 - First production Tuatara is delivered to its owner in Philadelphia, PA.[12]
  • October 10, 2020 - SSC North America conducts its first high speed test in Pahrump, NV, initially claiming an average top speed of 316.1 mph. This claim was later retracted when discrepancies between satellite data and video analysis indicated a discrepancy in the speed. CEO Jerod Shelby publicly addressed the mistakes and promised further testing to rely on more redundancies and transparency.[13][14]
  • January 17, 2021 - Continued high speed testing of the Tuatara at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility produced an average top speed of 282.9 mph (455.3 km/h) on a 2.5 mile stretch of runway (Northbound: 279.7 mph (450.1 km/h), Southbound: 286.1 mph (460.4 km/h)). The high speed runs were driven by the owner of the Tuatara, Larry Caplin, a non-professional driver. Present at the test was Race Logic, an automotive telemetry firm, and independent analyst Robert Mitchell, who was one of the most outspoken critics of SSC's October 2020 speed claim.[15]
  • May 14, 2022 - Larry Caplin's Tuatara reached a one-way speed of 295 mph (475 km/h) over the course of 2.3 miles (3.7 km) at Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility. This was verified by two Racelogic VBOX GNSS and a Life Racing GPS speed measurement systems, as well as a Racelogic technician on hand.[16][17]

Models

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SSC Ultimate Aero

[edit]
Main article: SSC Ultimate Aero
SSC Ultimate Aero TT

The first prototype SSC Ultimate Aero was completed in 2004. The two original prototypes were equipped with a supercharged 377.6 cu in (6,188 cc) Chevrolet Corvette C5R V8 engine. The supercharged engines originally produced 782 horsepower but were eventually modified to produce up to 908 horsepower with theoretical top speeds of up to 242 mph (390 km/h).

Following the original two prototypes, SSC replaced the supercharged engine with a new twin-turbo V8 that eventually produced 1,287 horsepower. The twin-turbo setup can be found in the majority of the SSC Ultimate Aeros produced. On September 13, 2007, the Ultimate Aero became the world's fastest production car as certified by Guinness World Records with a top speed of 256.18 mph averaged over two runs in opposite directions.

SSC Ultimate Aero XT

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In 2013, SSC North America announced they were going to produce a limited number of SSC Ultimate Aero XTs. This vehicle was an upgraded Ultimate Aero and included many features from the Tuatara (Concept). These features include a 1,300 horsepower version of the Tuatara twin-turbocharged V8, a 7-speed Tuatara paddle shifter transmission, and upgraded cooling, fuel, and braking systems.

SSC Tuatara

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Main article: SSC Tuatara
2019 SSC Tuatara prototype

The SSC Tuatara is currently in production at the SSC North America assembly facility in Richland, Washington.[18] The vehicle is the result of a design collaboration between Jason Castriota and SSC North America and was titled the "Crown Jewel" of the 2011 Dubai International Motor Show. The car made its debut at the 2020 Philadelphia Auto Show. The vehicle is limited to 100 examples.[19] On October 10, 2020, driver Oliver Webb allegedly broke the production car speed record in the SSC Tuatara with a top speed of 331.15 miles per hour and a 2-way average of 316.11 mph on a closed public roadway with street tires and non-race fuel.[20] The claim, however, has since been disputed by several sources who analyzed the video and information given from SSC North America and have since made claims that the top speed run was illegitimate.[21][22] On January 17, 2021, Tuatara owner and non-professional driver Larry Caplin officially broke the speed record for fastest production vehicle with an average 2-way average speed of 282.9 mph on a 2.5 mile stretch of runway at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. The claim was verified by Race Logic, with a technician onsite to install and analyze the data.[23] SSC has stated that it plans on continuing high speed testing to validate the top speed of the Tuatara and hopes to be the first production car to reach and surpass 300 mph.

Facilities

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SSC North America is based in Richland, Washington, where its assembly facility and corporate offices are located.[24]

References

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  1. ^ "About SSC". Archived from the original on November 25, 2011.
  2. ^ "SSC 'Going Green' In New SuperCar Development". SSC North America. July 12, 2008. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008.
  3. ^ Yoney, Domenick (February 1, 2009). "Shelby Super Cars revises incredible claims (again!), now almost credible". Autobloggreen.com. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  4. ^ "SSC Middle East Exclusive Showroom to Open In February 27th 2009". SSC North America. July 10, 2008. Archived from the original on December 28, 2015.
  5. ^ "Bugatti, Shelby compete to be speed kings of the road - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  6. ^ "SSC Tuatara". SSC North America. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  7. ^ Weiss, C.C. (April 29, 2013). "SSC completes engine testing on Tuatara supercar, teases 1,700 hp". Gizmag. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  8. ^ Neff, John (June 29, 2012). "Shelby SuperCars gets a new name". autoblog.com. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  9. ^ Vijayenthiran, Viknesh (August 3, 2012). "SSC Sending Out Ultimate Aero With Tuatara-Powered XT". motorauthority.com. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  10. ^ "SSC Announces Limited Production of Five Ultimate Aero XT's". SSC North America. August 2, 2012. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  11. ^ Padeanu, Adrian. "SSC Tuatara Enters Production; First Car To Be Delivered In Q3". Motor1.com. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  12. ^ "First production SSC Tuatara revealed, company to build 99 more". Motor Authority. February 7, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  13. ^ Huddleston, Tom Jr. (October 21, 2020). "This small American car company now has the world's fastest car (316 mph) — take a look". CNBC. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  14. ^ Lee, Kristen. "How a $1.6 million supercar clawed its reputation back after the internet debunked its 316 mph speed record". Business Insider. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  15. ^ Gastelu, Gary (January 27, 2021). "SSC Tuatara supercar claims world speed record at 282.9 MPH". Fox News. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  16. ^ Blain, Loz (May 25, 2022). "SSC Tuatara owner clocks 295 mph (475 km/h) in just 2.3 miles". New Atlas. US. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  17. ^ Petroelje, Nathan (May 25, 2022). "SSC does its homework; Tuatara hits 295 mph". Hagerty Media. US. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  18. ^ "Tuatara Production Underway | SSC Press Release". www.sscnorthamerica.com. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  19. ^ Alaniz, Anthony. "2020 SSC Tuatara Debuts With 1,750 HP, Wild Looks". Motor1.com. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "SSC's Tuatara is the fastest car in the world with 331mph top speed". Top Gear. October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  21. ^ "Did the SSC Tuatara REALLY Set a 331mph World Record? - YouTube". www.youtube.com. October 26, 2020. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  22. ^ "What Controversy? SSC Tuatara World's Fastest Car Speed Record Validated by GPS Analysis". MotorTrend. October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  23. ^ Berk, Brett (January 27, 2021). "1750-HP SSC Tuatara Sets Production-Car Speed Record (for Real This Time)". Car and Driver. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  24. ^ "Contact | SSC North America". www.sscnorthamerica.com. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
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