SSC Tuatara Top Speed Record In A Shambles, But Not All Is Lost

The record will now be re-run to prove the car’s ability

It was a glorious day the 10th of October 2020 for SSC as its Tuatara hypecar achieved a top speed record for a production car with a 316.11 mph (508.73 km/hr) average speed.

Koenigsegg Agera RS’s 2017 record run that saw the car post an average of 277.9 mph (447.23 km/hr) and a top speed of 284.55 mph (457.94 km/hr) was shattered like a glass ornament when hit with a hammer.

Piloted by professional racing driver Oliver Webb the SSC Tuatara top speed record run, held at a 11.26 km stretch of State Route 160 near Pahrump in Nevada, saw the hypercar hit 331.15 mph (532.93 km/hr).

SSC duly went on to release a couple of edited videos which were not to legitimise the record run but to show the world that such an event happened.

From then on problems arised, with YouTubers and people on social media raising many doubts over the legitimacy of the run.

Driven Studios, which worked with SSC to document the Tuatara’s build and the record run, despite having had footage from multiple cameras it had used on 10th October 2020, including in the car, on the ground and even in a helicopter, released both videos with significant errors.

Then came the big blow. For measuring the top speed run on the day, SSC had used GPS equipment from Dewetron. But, Dewetron issued a statement saying it “did not validate any data from world record attempts or preceding tests”.

It further added that none of “Dewetron’s employees were present during the test drive or involved in the associated preparations”.

With controversy looming large over what should have been a feat celebrated by the car community as one, SSC Founder Jerod Shelby issued a statement explaining that there has been a mixup on the editing side.

He assured that his team has all the relevant documentation needed to show that they did achieve the said top speed. Soon, the actual footage in the simplest form is expected to be released by SSC.

But that would not stop people from speaking ill about the record run, would it? So, Jerod has announced that SSC will re-run the record with the Tuatara in the “very near future”.

It takes courage and confidence to put out a statement like that. Now all that the firm has to do is make sure that the next record run is undeniable and irrefutable.