The SSC Ultimate Aero Is The Underrated American Supercar Everyone Forgot Existed
Imagine a U.S.-built supercar with power and performance to match the Bugatti Veyron, but for half the price. That's what the SSC Ultimate Aero set out to be when it arrived in 2007. Founded by Jerod Shelby (no relation to Carroll) in 1998, SSC North America is headquartered in Richland, Washington, and specializes in low-production supercars.
Prototypes of the Ultimate Aero were produced and tested between 2004 and 2007. Then in September 2007, the car set a new Guinness World Record by hitting a top speed of 256.14 miles per hour, says SSC North America. This beat an unofficial record of 252.5 miles per hour set by the Bugatti Veyron and smashed the most recent official speed record of 241 miles per hour set by the Koenigsegg CCR.
SSC said its car could potentially go even faster, with full-scale wind tunnel tests calculating the Ultimate Aero would be aerodynamically stable at up to 273 miles per hour. As with all Guinness speed records, the time was taken by calculating the average of two runs timed in opposite directions within an hour of one another, and the car was powered by regular pump gas. The record stood for three years, until the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport managed 267.9 miles per hour, reported Autoweek.
A twin-turbo V8
From the days before hybridization and electrification, the Ultimate Aero was powered by a Corvette-derived twin-turbocharged V8 engine producing 1,199 horsepower, said Autocar after driving the car when new. The small-block V8's power output had grown significantly during the development of the Ultimate Aero, from just 410 horsepower in 2004. The near-tripling of power came from the 5.7-liter capacity being bored out by 676cc, and the addition of two turbochargers. This resulted in an engine "resembling a controlled nuclear explosion" on startup, Autocar reported, adding: "The start-up extravaganza lasts a couple of seconds before the engine settles into a satisfying burble."
In October 2008, SSC announced an upgraded 2009 version of the Ultimate Aero priced at $740,000. New features included a one-piece billet aluminum engine block, according to Supercars.net, improving structural integrity, oiling capabilities, and durability, and increasing power to a claimed 1,287 horsepower. With a weight of 1,249 kilograms (2,750 pounds), the updated car had a better than 1:1 power-to-weight ratio. SSC claimed the 2009 model had a top speed of 270 miles per hour and could accelerate to 60 miles per hour in around 2.8 seconds, and to 100 miles per hour in 9.9 seconds.
Old and new
Although the Ultimate Aero's performance figures place it alongside or even above some of today's supercars — it is more powerful than a McLaren P1 or Ferrari SF90 Stradale — road testers of the time had their concerns. Despite liking the sound it made, Autocar wrote in 2007 of "mid-1990s" styling with "noticeable variances in some panel gaps" and an interior that "leaves much to be desired".
That said, there were glimmers of a supercar from the future. The Ultimate Aero has an all-carbon body, which is something that remains rare even among today's mid-ranking supercars, with a flat undertray and twin venturi tunnels for enhanced aerodynamics without resorting to a large rear wing. Autocar also said six-foot drivers could sit comfortably, and that the chassis felt "suitably rigid."
Driving the car in 2011, TopGear Magazine said: "The Ultimate Aero is definitely from the Nineties — classic, low, flat and wide school of supercar design, inside and out." The magazine added that the interior "feels like you've stepped back in time," citing elements like simplistic dash gauges and an "offset and angled" steering wheel design as examples.
Rare but (relatively) inexpensive
Just 24 examples were built, according to Mecum Auctions, which had one for sale during Monterey Car Week in August 2021. Despite its rarity, prices have failed to keep pace with other supercars of the era like the Porsche Carrera GT and Ferrari Enzo, ranked among the best Ferraris of all time. An Ultimate Aero came up for sale in 2021 and despite having just 1,400 miles on the clock was priced at $225,000, says Motor1.
The Ultimate Aero is succeeded by the Tuatara, a V8-engined hypercar with a claimed power output of 1,750 horsepower. SSC at first said the car had achieved 331 miles per hour, but later admitted in a YouTube video this figure was inaccurate. The company now says the Tuatara has a verified top speed of 295 miles per hour. Limited to 100 examples, the car is priced from $1.3 million to $1.9 million. SSC also offers two other variants of the Tuatara: the high-downforce Striker and the 2,200-horsepower, track-only Aggressor.