VIDEO: Shelby Supercars Shows off its Latest Creation

Monday, July 18, 2011

There’s a new beast in town and it’s called the Shelby Supercars Tuatara (pronounced twu‐tar‐ah). The company that was founded by Jarod Shelby in 1999 says the Tuatara was inspired by a modern day New Zealand reptile that bears the same name.

"The design specifications for the Next Generation SSC were so extreme; we knew early on that a proper name would be a key piece of the puzzle for this project," Shelby said in a statement.

Designed by Jason Castriota, the Tuatara is powered by a twin-turbocharged 7.0-liter V8 engine making around 1,350-horsepower, which are channeled to the rear wheels through a 7-Speed manual gearbox or optionally, a 7-Speed SMG Paddle Shift sequential automatic transmission.

While Shelby Supercars has not yet released any performance numbers, the company says it is ready to reclaim the title of the maker of the fastest production car in the world with the carbon-fiber-bodied Tuatara.

The American company took the crown from the standard Veyron with its 1,183HP SCC Ultimate Aero TT that recorded a top speed of 257 mph (413 km/h) but lost it to Bugatti and its 1,200HP Veyron Super Sport that recorded a top speed of 258 mph (415 km/h).

"Most manufacturers essentially use the same basic model and body shape for up to 10 years, while only making small refinements to it each year,” Jarod Shelby explained.

“After only three years in production with the Ultimate Aero, SSC's Tuatara is about to monumentally evolve in the areas of sophistication, design, aerodynamics and shear all‐around performance. We felt that the fastest evolving DNA was a perfect definition of SSC's latest project."

Watch the video as Shelby explains the reasoning behind his newest supercar and shows as a couple of tantalizing shots as well as a blueprint.

VIDEO