World Speed Record Breaking SSC Ultimate Aero up for Sale

SSC Ultimate Aero

By Thami Masemola
March 17, 2009 8:30 PM
Filed Under: American, Records (World), Specialty Marques, Supercars

As the motoring world keeps celebrating the speed achievements of the Bugatti Veyron, the lesser known SSC Ultimate Aero actually holds the official World's Fastest Production Car record. The record was endorsed by Guinness World Records in 2007.

And for a minimum of US$100,000 anyone can place their bid for ownership of the Ultimate SSC Ultimate Aero on eBay. The car on auction is the actual Shelby Supercars-built vehicle used in breaking the speed record. Previous official holders were car celebrities like the 1932 Duesenberg SJ, the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, the 1986 Porsche 959, a 1990 Lamborghini Diablo, a 1994 McLaren F1 and a 2005 Bugatti Veyron.

Powering this supercar is a 6.4-litre V8 twin turbo engine that produces 1183bhp (882kW) and 1,094 ft-lbs of torque. The engine is mid-placed and drive is through the rear wheels which are forged 3-piece alloy wheels measuring 19 inches at the front and 20 inches at the back. They are wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport tyres.

Performance is astounding to say the least. The 0 - 60mph time is completed in 2.78 seconds. It covers the quarter mile in 9.9 seconds at a speed of 144mph (232km/h) and the top speed is a record-breaking 257.41 mph (414km/h).

The interior is fitted with plush equipment fit for a US$100,000-plus car. Gadgets like a 10-speaker DVD music system, a 7.5-inch screen, satellite navigation system and an automatic backup camera can be found inside.

Source: worldrecordcarauction

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Tags: SSC, SSC Ultimate Aero, Shelby Supercars

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Comments

danat86

March 17, 2009 9:09 PM

It may be fast, but its screams "kit car". What makes Veyron so special is that it weights like a whale, it has all the luxury you would ever want in a supercar but couldn't get before, it has enormous amount of technology and it can still achievement mind blowing speed. If you strip down Veyron to same weight and same interior as Aero, Veyron will be hell of a lot faster. Fit the Aero with same interior as veyron, and then we can talk about who is genuinely faster.

Joe_Limon

March 17, 2009 9:18 PM

The interior of the Aero is not a stripped down kit car interior, read the article, or view some reviews of it on youtube. "The interior is fitted with plush equipment fit for a US$100,000-plus car. Gadgets like a 10-speaker DVD music system, a 7.5-inch screen, satellite navigation system and an automatic backup camera can be found inside." whereas the veyron (from their site) "Equipped with premium technology, the audio system contains a radio, a CD player, and eight loudspeakers."

Edited by user on March 17, 2009 at 9:24 PM

radmeister

March 18, 2009 12:19 AM

You could have 20 speakers, doesn't mean they are better than 8. It's a small cabin, 8 high end speakers would be better than 10 lower end speakers. I'm not sure what brand bugatti uses but if they are B&O then 8 is 100x better than the 10 in the Aero.

Joe_Limon

March 18, 2009 12:48 AM

It isn't a B&O system, but it's nice to see you can quantify their speakers being 100times better.

Aesthetics

March 18, 2009 3:28 AM

i agree, looks like a lamborghini diablo rip off, missing four cylinders, sounding like an oldsmobile with turbo kits off a workshop that has The Fast And The Furious posters everywhere.

Xanavi23

March 19, 2009 4:57 PM

Looks like a Diablo because SSC used to make the highest quality Diablo replicas. However that has changed yet they stuck with a similar design because the AERO was aimed at high speed and the Diablos silhouette is perfectly suited for that.

LP560_4

March 17, 2009 9:41 PM

it looks alot nicer than i thought it did from the pictures of that blue one if you google scc ultimate aero.

Get_real

March 17, 2009 10:52 PM

The point is how many of these Aero's have been made/sold?? They are selling 'the' actual car that holds the record... Are there many others that can deliver the same? There are not many Veyron's, but I'm sure more than Aero's. And every single one can get to 400km/h as many times I you would want it. Not sure if the same applies for the Aero. I can appreciate the Aero's achievement but I don't put it in the same class as a Veyron. By the way, I do think the Aero looks nicer...

Joe_Limon

March 17, 2009 11:01 PM

Since the engine in the aero was originally based off of the LS design, then modified I would think that this car is many times more reliable then the Veyron. Not to put down the Veyron's engineers but the engine they put in it has many many more moving parts, and the engine has been designed from scratch. There are no perfect engineers or designs. Just many interpretations of what is the best compromise.

radmeister

March 18, 2009 12:29 AM

Joe my pal, sorry i let u have all the fun for a week, i was having my fun in cuba on a little vacation, these debates tired me out. Let me tell you why the LS in the Aero may not be many more times more reliable than the V16 in the veyron, for one the LS was designed by GM engineers (lets assume both companies have equally skilled engineers) to handle 400-600hp. The veyron was designed to handle 1000hp+. The LS was made for budget applications (new engine costs about 13000$) so the quality of machining and materials can be assumed is lower than an engine that costs more than the most expensive LS powered car. USUALLY your actual engine doesn't break, mechanical parts are strong if they work in the way they are designed to, it comes down to sensors failing and other electrical controlling components. When these fail many things can go wrong, like timing, fuel pressure regulators and such, this happens and now your mechanical parts aren't operating under the conditions they were meant to, and thats when you blow your engine. Simply based on the fact that the LS was designed for half the power in the Aero, and that GM uses cheap sensors i would say that the Veyron will outlast the Aero. I can see a veyron with 100,000miles on it still running, an Aero not really. There have been many LS powered hyper cars none that i recall ever having too many kms.

Joe_Limon

March 18, 2009 12:55 AM

Radmeister, I know even you're not that ignorant. I am fairly certain you are aware this car only shares LS underpinnings. It in itself is itself is it's own custom engine. I have seen fea diagrams of some of the components, they have not simply just slapped big turbo's and nitrous to achieve the numbers they are running at.

Joe_Limon

March 18, 2009 6:33 AM

I was thinking more about it, and no, the only sensor that I have ever had "go" on me were a couple oxygen sensors, but those don't do damage. I must drive reliable cars whose only parts I need to replace are ones that wear down. i.e. belts, spark plugs, filters, etc. I guess I could see if I drove merc's and stuff all those "electronic sensors" would come back to haunt me.

radmeister

March 18, 2009 6:46 AM

I've had knock sensors fail, throttle body sensors fail. Trust me u know when those fail. Sure they probably changed the pistons, connecting rods, head assembly and crackshaft. Maybe even tungsten sleeved the cylinder walls. Problem is still that the block was designed to handle a certain amount of stress, even if you are still within their design safety factor you are bringing down the # of cycles it can last. The thing is when you take and boost an engine to 3x the power you can't expect it to last as long or longer than the original no matter how much you upgrade it.

Joe_Limon

March 18, 2009 7:47 AM

Nope the block is custom too. When I say custom I mean they took the LS blocks design, and strengthened it to handle the increased power. Then it's a custom milled block.

Edited by user on March 18, 2009 at 7:50 AM

scratchy996

March 18, 2009 8:13 PM

@ joe_limon , the Veyron is built to last , the gearbox alone is built to last for up to 20 years of punishment , the W16 engine was tested and retested. the Veyron spent years in production to ensure it's reliability. The production cost of a single Veyron is more than 7milion Euros and you say it's not reliable ?

Edited by user on March 18, 2009 at 8:14 PM

Joe_Limon

March 18, 2009 8:50 PM

That price is due to the number of parts and the tolerances placed on all of those parts not on the "free" vw engineering done to the car.

steelerfan2009

March 17, 2009 11:47 PM

next year both this car and the veyron are going to have more power this is getting 100+ more power the veyron is getting close to 300 more. cant wait till they both go for the record again,both companies are claiming 270 already.

sensei

March 18, 2009 1:08 AM

Lets compare build quality for the Aero vs the Veyron. Any Aero fanatics want to take that beatdown?

Xanavi23

March 19, 2009 4:58 PM

Me. The Aero is cheaper, faster and not an overweight pig. It also does the same job with less engine and less turbos.

sensei

March 20, 2009 11:02 PM

Ahhh, Xanavi, I can always count on you to avoid the question. naturally, you run from the build quality question because you cannot defend this overglorified kit-car.

Joe_Limon

March 21, 2009 12:42 AM

So added weight with the same/similar options means you have a better engineered car ;)

Aesthetics

March 18, 2009 3:19 AM

i remember reading a topic in a forum in all caps, AMERICA BEATS VEYRON! fittingly just when all three american major car maufacturers were about to collapse. reminds me of the term 'last hurrah' which usually associates to a championing last effort. in this case, i see it as a really low-class low blow attempt at publicity which has actually exposed the kind of crap mentality that pollutes th world, prostituting the press

ESEKO55

March 18, 2009 2:59 PM

AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN CARS ARE THE BEST...

scratchy996

March 18, 2009 8:29 PM

the Veyron was built as a showcase for VW technology , not to chase after every speed record. if they wanted only speed , they would have put that engine in a more aerodynamic body , like the Murcielago body , striped the car of all luxuries and there you go , fast car.

but Ferdinand Piech insisted that the Veyron should be a comfortable luxury GT cruiser and really fast. in the first years of development there was no wind tunnel to test the car in and the tire manufacturers couldn't give them tires for the car's full potential so they limited the car's top speed to a speed that the tires could handle.

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