After nine years of development, the SSC Tuatara finally went into production in 2020, with the first customer car showcased in February. Ever since it started working on the Tuatara, SSC said it will attempt a Guinness Book top speed record for production cars. And it seems it might have already happened.

According to the Nevada Department of Transportation, Highway 160 between Las Vegas and Pahrump was closed for a few hours on October 10 and 11 for a "special two-day filming event." Pahrump Valley Times reported that the traffic delays were related to SSC's world record attempt. Koenigsegg set its own record with the Agera RS on the same stretch of road in 2017.

SSC is aiming for a top speed in excess of 300 mph

Black SSC Tuatara
SSC

When the American firm announced this goal, no other production car had hit this speed. But since them Bugatti developed the Chiron Super Sport 300+. Using a modified prototype of this model, Bugatti reached a top speed of 304.77 mph in August 2019. But even though it was the first production vehicle to break the 300-mph barrier, the Chiron Super Sport 300+ did not qualify for the Guinness Book record because the record car was a prototype and the top speed was hit in a uni-directional run.

The official record holder remains the Koenigsegg Agera RS, which hit 277.87 mph back in 2017. So if SSC wants the Tuatara to be the world's fastest car, it only needs to surpass the 277.87 record. Of course, the aim remains to hit at least 300 mph, but it can be a Guinness Book record even if it doesn't surpass the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+. Assuming SSC will do two runs, which is very likely. But it remains to be seen if it will dethrone Bugatti unofficial record of 304.77 mph.

This will be SSC's second speed record

This isn't the first attempt by SSC at the production car speed record. Back in 2007, the American company drove the Ultimate Aero TT on a public highway in Washington State up to a top speed of 256.18 mph. At the time, it became the world's fastest production car, claiming the record from the Bugatti Veyron, rated at 253.81 mph. Bugatti returned in 2010 with the Veyron Super Sport and reclaimed the title with a top speed of 267.85 mph.

If we include unverified runs too, the Ultima Aero TT is the world's fifth fastest car, also falling behind the Hennessey Venom GT (270.49 mph) and the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ (304.77 mph).

The SSC Tuatara is a 1,750-horsepower beast

Powered by a twin-turbo, 5.9-liter V-8 engine developed by Nelson Racing, the SSC Tuatara cranks out 1,750 horsepower when running on E85 fuel. Regular gasoline decreases output to 1,350 horsepower, but it's still an impressive figure compared to most modern supercars. SSC plans to produce 100 units and pricing reportedly starts from around $1.6 million.