Shelby Supercars has cemented its claim that the SSC Tuatara is the world’s fastest car – but in a weirdly underwhelming fashion. Its new record of 282.9 mph (455.3 km/h) is nowhere near the previous claim, which was sensationally debunked last year in a storm of internet controversy.
In November, the company claimed its Tuatara hypercar had absolutely obliterated the production car speed record with an astonishing 316 mph (508.5 km/h) two-way average – nearly 20 percent faster than the previous record of 277.87 mph (447.19 km/h) set by the Koenigsegg Agera in 2017.
Smashing through both the 300-mph and 500-km/h barriers for the first time was an unbelievable achievement – quite literally, for a group of YouTube sleuths who put every detail of SSC’s record run under extreme scrutiny and found some very weird oddities.
The GPS speed data didn’t seem to sync up with the video. Placed side by side against the Agera’s run, which happened on the same stretch of Nevada highway, the Agera clearly went quicker between a given two landmarks. The gearbox ratios and engine speeds didn’t add up. A helicopter seen out the window of the car on a 360-degree camera shot appeared to be keeping up with the car while the datalogger was showing speeds at which that model of helicopter would literally fall out of the sky.
