SSC (Shelby SuperCars) Tuatara History

Named after the New Zealand reptile, the Tuatara was announced on July 17, 2011 as the Ultimate Aero's successor, with exterior design led by former Pininfarina designer Jason Castriota. A revised production car was unveiled at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and the first customer car was delivered in January 2020.

It uses a bespoke 5.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with a flat-plane crank built by Nelson Racing Engines, rated at about 1,350 hp on 91-octane fuel and up to roughly 1,750 hp on E85, driving the rear wheels through a 7-speed automated manual. The butterfly-doored carbon-fiber coupe is planned in a 100-car run.

In October 2020 SSC publicized a two-way average of 316 mph (with a one-way claim of 331 mph) as a new production-car record, but the claim was widely disputed and SSC later conceded the runs had not exceeded 300 mph. The company returned to record the car independently, with a verified two-way average of 282.9 mph in January 2021 and a 295-mph pass in 2022.