2009 SSC ULTIMATE AERO TT

NEWS & REVIEWS After holding the "World’s Fastest Production Car" title for the past year, the Shelby SuperCars' Ultimate Aero is receiving several refinements for the 2009 model year. The SSC engineering team equipped the 2009 Ultimate Aero with a 15% increase in horsepower, a revamped front fascia design, and an array of important interior upgrades. The most substantial change is an SSC-designed, 1-piece billet aluminum engine block. A milestone for the limited-production automobile manufacturer, the new block improves structural integrity and oiling capabilities allowing SSC to boost the power output to 1287 horsepower while improving durability. Armed with the more powerful new engine, the '09 Ultimate Aero will be able to reach world-record speeds of 270 MPH, raising the benchmark for supercars and pushing the limits of current production car technology. In order to accommodate the '09 Ultimate Aero's unique fuel system requirements, SSC turned to American company Aeromotive to develop a flawless system. The aggressive nose is redesigned with enhanced aerodynamics to accommodate the 2009 Ultimate Aero's higher top speed, and carbon fiber louvers on the side intakes draw in an additional 20% of air into the radiators for improved cooling. The improvement in overall performance will widen the already sizeable gap between the Ultimate Aero and its competitors. The '09 Ultimate Aero also introduces the AeroBrakeTM a rear spoiler system that deploys under braking situations. Finished in carbon fiber, the rear spoilers actuate up an additional 8" when the brake pedal is depressed. The speed of the spoiler actuation is set by the amount of brake pedal pressure. The complete AeroBrakeTM system can be disabled by the push of a button, for town driving or situations where braking and downforce assistance are not necessary. Rounding out the '09 Ultimate Aero's improvements is a revamped interior. A redesigned dash prominently displays sleek, exposed carbon fiber dash halves and inset air vents. Carbon fiber accents run along the doorsills, surround the new gauge cluster, and continue onto a revised steering column, which includes an analog speedometer and tachometer with a sequential shift light integrated into the tachometer needle. The new center console incorporates a digital temperature control unit and tire pressure monitor along with an Azentek PC base Infotainment unit. The revolutionary Azentek unit offers all the capabilities of a PC and processes SSC's onboard diagnostic software. PHOTOS: click photos to enlarge

2008 SSC ULTIMATE AERO TT

NEWS & REVIEWS Will they? Won’t they? Have they? As we went to press, Washington-based supercar maker, Shelby Super Cars was planning to go for the Guinness World Record for the Fastest Production Car with its 1,183-hp Ultimate Aero TT at the end of August. The company even got approval to close down a stretch of public highway for the record attempt. Seems SSC was encouraged by an earlier test, where the car hit a genuine 241.4 mph with the throttles opened only 71 percent. The ground-scraping Ultimate Aero certainly has the power from its fire-breathing, twin turbo-enhanced 6.3-liter Corvette CR5-based V-8. And getting off the line and to 60 mph will be over pretty quickly—like a mere 2.8 seconds. Seems SSC—there’s no connection with Carroll Shelby here—is desperate to boost its credibility by stealing some of the limelight from Bugatti’s 247-mph Veyron. Then it might justify its $654-grand sticker. PHOTOS: click photos to enlarge

2007 SSC ULTIMATE AERO TT

NEWS & REVIEWS Bugatti be scared. Very scared. Next spring, an all-American supercar, packing a staggering 1,180-hp and targeted to blast faster than 270 mph, will challenge the title of World’s Fastest Production Car, currently held by Bugatti’s 253-mph Veyron. Washington-based SSC is planning to unveil its road-legal 2007 Ultimate Aero TT in November—a car that’s been designed and developed with the sole aim of shattering the Veyron’s record top speed. Based on SSC’s composite- bodied, mid-engined Aero SC/8T coupe, this latest version is powered by a thundering 6.3-liter Corvette CR5-based V-8 with twin turbochargers. But it’s not only its top speed that’s expected to be explosive. With more than 960 lb-ft of torque on tap, SSC is talking about zero-to-60-mph acceleration in 2.8 seconds and quarter-mile sprinting in 9.9 seconds at 144 mph. SSC plans to build just 24 of the scissor-doored Ultimate Aero TTs priced at around $585,000. PHOTOS: click photos to enlarge

2006 SSC SSC

NEWS & REVIEWS The first production 908-horsepower SSC Aero was completed earlier this year. That’s one down, twenty-four more to go. SSC stands for Shelby Super Cars, and before you ask, nope, the company has nothing to do with supercar-legend Carroll Shelby. It just happens that the owner of this West Richland, Washington start-up is called Jerod Shelby. SCC’s first foray into the supercar world is its Aero SC/8T, an all-American, mid-engined rocket ship, powered by a super-charged 908-bhp Corvette CR5 race-bred V-8. Looking like a cross between a Lamborghini Murciélago and a Pagani Zonda, this carbon-fiber-bodied two seater certainly packs a serious punch. SSC claims zero-to-60-mph sprinting in 2.9 seconds, a 10.4-second quarter mile, and a theoretical top speed of 249 miles per hour. Just twenty-five Aeros are scheduled to be built, each with a hefty $239,000 sticker. PHOTOS: click photos to enlarge