GUTTER CREDITSyears before being bested by the Bugatti Veyron
Super Sport.
Shelby has now added to his quiver with the
Tuatara, a collaboration with designer Jason
Castriota, of Pininfarina, Maserati and Ferrari
fame. The mid-engined monster (named after a
reptile) looks worthier of a launchpad than pave-
ment. “I decided to bring aerospace and fighter-
jet appearance and performance to the street via
our latest model,” says Shelby. With a 5.9-liter
twin-turbo V-8 on board, the two-door takes off
with 1,750 hp (using E85 fuel) and 1,242 ft lbs
of torque—all mated with a 7-speed robotized
manual transmission capable of shifting gears
in as little as 50 milliseconds. Complementing
the cutting-edge power train is a carbon-fiber
chassis and body that are responsible for a dryTUATARA
SSC
North America
when you enter the automotive arena with
a last name that is synonymous with fast cars
and competition, expectations are already at the
redline—just ask 51-year-old Jerod Shelby. But the
creator of SSC North America, based in Washington
State, has no connection to late racer and automaker
Carroll Shelby or his clan, unless a passion for power
and performance can be considered shared DNA.
The marque fired its first missile into the record
books with the 1,287 hp SSC Ultimate Aero, which
reached a top speed of 256.14 mph in 2007. It
remained the world’s fastest production car for three96 AUGUST 2019
The Need for Speedyears before being bested by the Bugatti Veyron
Super Sport.
Shelby has now added to his quiver with the
Tuatara, a collaboration with designer Jason
Castriota, of Pininfarina, Maserati and Ferrari
fame. The mid-engined monster (named after a
reptile) looks worthier of a launchpad than pave-
ment. “I decided to bring aerospace and fighter-
jet appearance and performance to the street via
our latest model,” says Shelby. With a 5.9-liter
twin-turbo V-8 on board, the two-door takes off
with 1,750 hp (using E85 fuel) and 1,242 ft lbs
of torque—all mated with a 7-speed robotized
manual transmission capable of shifting gears
in as little as 50 milliseconds. Complementing
the cutting-edge power train is a carbon-fiber
chassis and body that are responsible for a dryTUATARA
SSC
NorthAmerica
when you enter the automotive arena with
a last name that is synonymous with fast cars
and competition, expectations are already at the
redline—just ask 51-year-old Jerod Shelby. But the
creator of SSC North America, based in Washington
State, has no connection to late racer and automaker
Carroll Shelby or his clan, unless a passion for power
and performance can be considered shared DNA.
The marque fired its first missile into the record
books with the 1,287 hp SSC Ultimate Aero, which
reached a top speed of 256.14 mph in 2007. It
remained the world’s fastest production car for three96 AUGUST 2019
The Need for Speed