History of SSC Tuatara in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: May 24, 2024

The SSC Tuatara is a high-performance sports car made by SSC North America. It's the follow-up to their previous car, the Ultimate Aero, and was designed by Jason Castriota and SSC. It uses a 5.9-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, smaller than the 6.9-liter one initially planned, to allow for a higher 8,800 rpm redline. SSC claims the car can produce up to 1,350 horsepower on regular fuel or 1,750 horsepower on E85 fuel, and reach a top speed of over 300 mph.

2011: Concept Debut

The SSC Tuatara, successor to the Ultimate Aero, debuted as a concept at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

2017: Koenigsegg Agera RS Sets Record

The Koenigsegg Agera RS set a production car top speed record in 2017 on the same Nevada highway where the Tuatara would later attempt its record runs.

August 2018: Production Version Unveiled

Seven years after the concept debut, the production version of the SSC Tuatara was unveiled to the public in August 2018.

October 10, 2020: Disputed Top Speed Record

The Tuatara made headlines on October 10, 2020, when SSC claimed it achieved a record-breaking top speed of 331.15 mph, but the record was disputed and later withdrawn by SSC.

October 30, 2020: SSC Acknowledges Concerns

On October 30, 2020, SSC founder Jerod Shelby admitted to doubts about the accuracy of the initial top speed run and promised a re-run.

2020: Second Top Speed Attempt Hindered

In December 2020, a second attempt to achieve a record top speed was unsuccessful due to mechanical issues, with the Tuatara only reaching 252 mph.

2020: Track-Focused Variants Teased

In May 2020, SSC North America teased two new Tuatara variants designed for track performance.

January 17, 2021: Verified High-Speed Run

On January 17, 2021, the Tuatara achieved a two-way average speed of 282.9 mph at Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility, verified by multiple tracking systems.

April 2021: Trailer Incident

In April 2021, the Tuatara was damaged in a trailer accident caused by high winds in Utah while en route to another record attempt.

July 21, 2021: SSC Retracts Record

SSC officially retracted the initial top speed record on July 21, 2021, acknowledging that the car did not surpass 300 mph.

May 14, 2022: One-Way Speed Achieved

On May 14, 2022, the Tuatara reached a one-way speed of 295 mph at Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility, verified by multiple GPS speed measurement systems.