SSC North America, better known as the parent company of models like the record breaking Ultimate Aero and the recently unveiled Tuatara, announced it will be dropping the Shelby name from its title, opting to only use the SSC nomenclature. Apparently, there was way too much confusion when it came to whether or not Jerod Shelby (SSC’s founder) was in any way related to automotive legend, Carroll Shelby.
Jerod Shelby, Founder and Lead Designer, said in an official press release: "After several months of successfully launching our new corporate name and solidifying further International brand awareness for SSC at the Dubai International Motor Show and Top Marques in Macau, it was the right time to officially announce our name change."
"We have always wanted to focus on the pride associated with being an American built supercar and the timing is right," Shelby stated. "We have previously launched the Tuatara in both Shanghai and Pebble Beach and these two events in Dubai and Macau ensure the appropriate branding we are hoping to achieve for our company worldwide."
We don’t necessarily see how only using SSC will stop the annoying "relation" question from being asked, especially since SSC stands for Shelby Super Cars anyway, but with vehicles like the Aero and the Tuatara diving into the supercar market, Jerod Shelby will more than likely get his own following.
Going through all of the glorious supercars of 2011 was no easy task, especially since it felt like every random country of the world was developing their own supercar. Each vehicle we came across deserved to have their time to shine on the list for best supercar of 2011, but as time went on, it was clear which ones stood out above all of the rest.
A couple of the supercars on the list shouldn’t surprise anyone, especially since they were created by one of the top supercar makers in the world. Then there are the relative newbies to the group that have received enough recognition to warrant praise from the average car enthusiast, but the final vehicle would probably not be recognized by many and its home country may actually cause ridicule to ensue. The end result, however, was enough to give it a spot on our list.
Hit the jump to check out which of the supercar bad boys made it to the top of our list for Supercar of the Year.
Full story
The battle for the title of “World’s Fastest Production car” has just heated up – again. And this time its round two of the classic David vs. Goliath encounter: diminutive Shelby Super Cars taking on the might of VW-owned Bugatti. American one man show SSC, forced the world to take them seriously after the original Ultimate Aero snatched the title away from the Veyron with a run of 256mph, recorded on a four-mile-long Texas single carriageway that featured a dogleg bend that needed to be navigated at “just” 210mph. The man at the wheel was 71 year old Chuck Bigelow who had no racing experience and refused to wear even a crash helmet.
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)
Full story after the jump. Full story
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SSC’s answer to Bugatti’s record breaking Veyron came in the form of the ultra-fast and expertly designed Tuatara released about a year ago. This supercar boasts of an insane quad-cam, twin-turbo 6.8L V8 barreling out a colossal 1350HP and a proposed top speed of 275 mph! Basically, this car is shaping up to be a heart-stopping, Veyron-slaying super car of epic proportions, and now we can match the killer looks and power with the advanced interior recently developed by SSC.
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.
Click here for a video of the car’s interior.
More on the interior of the SSC Tuatara after the jump.
Interior Shots Full story
Shelby Supercars has released new details on the new generation Aero that is set to take on the Veyron SuperSports record. The SSC Aero II is powered by a 6.8-liter four-cam twin-turbo engine that develops an impressive 1,350 HP at 9,000 rpm. Top speed will be in the 440 km/h area or 273 mph. The current world record was set by Bugatti and is 267 mph.
The Aero II will be offered with ABS, traction control, power steering, and Brembo carbon ceramic brakes. It will also be given an active air brake system inspired by airplanes. It will go on sale at a price of $970,000.
Top Gear’s thoughts on the supercar: "A crush on your body, a blur on your vision. As magnetic and sinister as peering over the edge of a cliff at crashing waves hundreds of feet below. A headlong rush - a physical one towards the far-distance, and a metaphorical rush towards the edges of your own self-restraint that, for me at any rate, exposes a gaping shortfall of skill to make the best of torque that can, because there’s no traction control, produce extravagant wheelspin in the first three gears and occasionally in fourth beyond 100mph."
That’s a fantastic description if we’ve ever heard one. And now that TopGear has revealed more details on the SSC Ultimate Aero II, we expect the official debut to come soon. Stay tuned!
