In October 2020, the SSC Tuatara hypercar was happily crowned by its maker as the world’s “fastest production vehicle.” The joy was short lived as controversy quickly arose following the reveal of the 316.11-mph (508.73 kph) average between two runs in opposite directions.
As the Internet madness snowballed into a full-blown skirmish against the company, SSC North America Jerod Shelby promised to organize a second world record attempt as soon as possible. That time was last week, while the 2020 SSC Tuatara was undergoing testing at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds (aka the legendary Shuttle Runway at the Kennedy Space Center) in Florida.
In a clear attempt to recapture its tarnished honor, this time around, SSC North America enlisted the help of Racelogic to certify its achieved top speed. The renowned high-speed experts were asked to “provide technical assistance with measuring and validating high-speed test runs of the SSC Tuatara during testing and record attempt” on January 17th, 2021.
According to Racelogic and SSC North America, the speed and time data were collected using a Racelogic VBOX 3i 100Hz GNSS system, which should be accurate down to ±0.06 mph (0.09 kph). A VBOX Video HD2 system also took video samples, so everything should turn out above any suspicion.
We’re sensing the controversy isn’t over, though. That’s because Racelogic’s certified results are quite a bit different from the ones collected during the previous attempt. On this occasion, the SSC Tuatara achieved a maximum speed of 279.7 mph (450.1 kph) northbound and 286.1 mph (460.4 kph) southbound. The average between these runs was 282.9 mph (455.3 kph).
As things stand right now, that’s enough to best Koenigsegg’s 447.19 kph (277.87 mph) run from 2017, but not Bugatti’s subsequent attempt. The French automaker took the Chiron Super Sport 300+ to the Ehra-Lessien test track and achieved a maximum velocity of 304.773 mph (490.484 kph); mind you, that was done in a single direction.
As far as we’re concerned, until an automaker – possibly Hennessey with its brand-new Venom F5 – comes with irrefutable proof that it managed to soar past all these values, the title remains up for debate.
In a clear attempt to recapture its tarnished honor, this time around, SSC North America enlisted the help of Racelogic to certify its achieved top speed. The renowned high-speed experts were asked to “provide technical assistance with measuring and validating high-speed test runs of the SSC Tuatara during testing and record attempt” on January 17th, 2021.
According to Racelogic and SSC North America, the speed and time data were collected using a Racelogic VBOX 3i 100Hz GNSS system, which should be accurate down to ±0.06 mph (0.09 kph). A VBOX Video HD2 system also took video samples, so everything should turn out above any suspicion.
We’re sensing the controversy isn’t over, though. That’s because Racelogic’s certified results are quite a bit different from the ones collected during the previous attempt. On this occasion, the SSC Tuatara achieved a maximum speed of 279.7 mph (450.1 kph) northbound and 286.1 mph (460.4 kph) southbound. The average between these runs was 282.9 mph (455.3 kph).
As things stand right now, that’s enough to best Koenigsegg’s 447.19 kph (277.87 mph) run from 2017, but not Bugatti’s subsequent attempt. The French automaker took the Chiron Super Sport 300+ to the Ehra-Lessien test track and achieved a maximum velocity of 304.773 mph (490.484 kph); mind you, that was done in a single direction.
As far as we’re concerned, until an automaker – possibly Hennessey with its brand-new Venom F5 – comes with irrefutable proof that it managed to soar past all these values, the title remains up for debate.