SSC Tuatara attains world's 'fastest production vehicle' title

SSC North America has reclaimed the coveted title of world's 'Fastest Production Vehicle' with its 1,726bhp Tuatara, beating the previous record set by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport.

With professional racing driver Oliver Webb at the Tuatara's wheel, the record-breaking drive took place on the morning of 10 October 2020, outside of Las Vegas near Pahrump, Nevada along an 11.2km stretch of State Route 160. 

Webb pushed the SSC Tuatara to an average speed of 508.73km/h following two consecutive high-speed test runs of 484.53km/h and 532.93km/h. In accordance with record criteria, the Tuatara traveled in opposite directions, clocking its speeds within one hour, to break the world record for 'Fastest Production Vehicle'. 

Officials were on site to verify all world record criteria were met - including reviewing Dewetron GPS measurements, which tracked the speed runs using an average of 15 satellites - and to confirm the new record.

"It has been 10 years since we held this record with our first car, the Ultimate Aero, and the Tuatara is leagues ahead. Its performance reflects the dedication and focus with which we pursued this achievement," said Jerod Shelby, CEO of SSC.  "We came pretty close to meeting the theoretical numbers, which is astonishing to do in a real world setting on a public road. America's new claim to victory in the 'land-based space race' is going to be tough to beat."

"There was definitely more in there. And with better conditions, I know we could have gone faster," said Oliver Webb, who piloted the record run. "As I approached 532km/h, the Tuatara climbed almost 32km/h within the last five seconds. It was still pulling well. As I told Jerod, the car wasn't running out of steam yet. The crosswinds are all that prevented us from realising the car's limit."