an upcoming American sports car to be produced by automobile manufacturer SSC North America (formerly Shelby SuperCars Inc.). The car is the successor to the SSC Aero and is the result of a design collaboration between Jason Castriota and SSC. Initially it was to be powered by a 6.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine but eventually the capacity of the engine was reduced to 5.9-liters in order to allow the engine to have a higher redline of 8,800 rpm. SSC has stated that the power output would be at 1,350 hp on E85 fuel) along with the top speed goal of 300 mph.
SSC began working on the development of the successor of the SSC Ultimate Aero in 2011. The new car, named the Tuatara was previewed in concept form at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance but due to certain reasons never came to the production stage. In August 2018, 7 years after the debut of the concept, the production version of the Tuatara was shown to the general public. Designed by ex-Pininfarina designer Jason Castriota, the car takes inspiration from the aero space industry.
The Tuatara is named after the reptile, found only in New Zealand, known for having the fastest molecular evolution of any living animal.
Boasting the lowest coefficient of drag in its class at 0.279 and having a carbon-fiber body construction with aluminum crumple zones, SSC aims to set new benchmarks in the production car speed records by beating its competitors outright.
The interior contains leather and Alcantara upholstery and the functions of the car are controlled through a touch screen located on the center console. There is a configurable instrument panel behind the steering wheel displaying important information about the car’s status along with a 300 mph speedometer. The car uses a camera system instead of traditional side view mirrors.
The Tuatara will be produced at a purpose-built facility in West Richland, Washington and production will be limited to 100 cars.
SSC has partnered with Nelson Racing Engines to build the engine, Linder Power Systems for engine sub-assembly fabrication and Automac for the production of the 7-speed semi-automatic transmission.
