Monday, October 19, 2020

Production Hypercars: There Is A New World Speed Record

 From New Atlas, October 19:

SSC Tuatara sets 316-mph record to become world's fastest production car 

Thirteen years after it made a name for itself with its first world speed record, SSC has done it again, absolutely blowing the field away with a new official world speed record. On Saturday, October 10, on a dry, sun-drenched stretch of state highway outside Las Vegas, pro driver Oliver Webb took the wheel of the 1,750-hp SSC Tuatara and pushed it past the elusive 300-mph (483-km/h) barrier ... and just kept going. The Tuatara averaged an incredible 316.11 mph (508.73 km/h) on its official two-way run, hitting a mind-blowing 331.15 mph (532.93 km/h) on the return leg and forever cementing its place in automotive history.  

Leading up to this huge world record leap, a handful of elite hypercar builders were slowly inching closer and closer to 300 mph. Bugatti held the world record for the bulk of the last decade with its 267.81-mph (431-km/h) record in 2010, in spite of a little elbowing from Hennessey. Eventually Koenigsegg put an end to any debate with a 277.87-mph (447.19-km/h) run in 2017....

....MUCH MORE 

It's a pretty big deal in some circles.
Don't care? 
Also at New Atlas: