Its intentions of winning a production car speed record are the same, but its engine, its look and its aerodynamics are all greatly enhanced.
New car, new factory--that's the thinking going on within SSC at the moment. The Ultimate Aero was built at a conglomerate of plants in Arizona, California and Washington, but Shelby is looking to find a single home for the Tuatara.
And what better home than West Richland, Washington? West Richland is where Shelby's corporate headquarters are, and Washington is where the Ultimate Aero set its world speed record back in 2007.
As the area's Tri-City Herald reports, SSC is looking to build a 27,000 square-foot plant in the southern Washington town. The plant would be built on land leased from the city, and SSC is awaiting a city council ruling on the project and a potential state-funded grant. The building would house both manufacturing and sales facilities.
According to SSC, the plant will create more than 50 jobs over the next five years and up to 200 jobs when it's fully up and running.
The SSC Tuatara was first revealed over a year ago, but just recently made its official public debut in Shanghai. The supercar pulls 1,350 horsepower out of a twin-turbocharged 7.0-liter V-8 engine. Its sexy carbon fiber body is optimized for aerodynamics, helping to give it a claimed top speed of up to 275 mph, a speed that would be more than fast enough to replace the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport's 268 mph at the very top of the production car speed record list.
