SSC Ulimate Aero TT

SSC Ulimate Aero TT

Who didn’t see this one coming? America’s Shelby Super Cars (SSC) will be attempting to reclaim its title of manufacturer of the world’s fastest production car now that the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport has set the official record of 268 mph.

As we reported back in 2007, SSC originally stole the record from the first Veyron when it posted an average top speed of 255 mphwith its 1,183 horsepower Ultimate Aero TT supercar but now Bugatti is back on top.

Now, following the Veyron Super Sport’s cruise into the record books, SSC has released a statement congratulating Bugatti and boasting that it will set a new record with a brand new model due towards the end of summer.

In the statement, SSC said: We've been working on a new project to debut before the end of the summer. Not much can be said at this time except that we'll be upping the ante on all fronts. Having famed American designer Jason Castriota as our lead design enables SSC to reflect its engineer and performance in its aesthetics. It's impossible for us to be more thrilled about having him on board and we're anxious to show the world what we have up our sleeve.

Hopefully, Castriota will be able to amend one of SSC’s biggest criticisms: that its cars don’t have the dramatic design and premium feel of a world beating exotic. If anyone can do it, it’s definitely Castriota. The man is responsible for such designs as the Bertone Mantide, Pininfarina P4/5 and Maserati GranTurismo.

Watch this space.

[SSC via Jalopnik]