What Is The SSC Tuatara's Top Speed? (And Is It Street Legal?)

The SSC Tuatara and its variants were once shrouded in a remarkable layer of controversy, originally claiming a top speed of 331 mph. Sadly, this turned out to be a hoax, and SSC recommitted to setting an actual proper record run. It took them a couple of years, but ultimately the specialist manufacturer (somewhat) got its wish, setting a blistering 295 mph run on May 14, 2022, at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Ground –just 9 mph shy from the record held by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+. That's one monster feat for a street-legal car (though let's be real, the SSC Tuatara stretches the definition of "street-legal" to within an inch of its life).

What's more impressive, though, is that unlike at a location like Bonneville, where you have an expanse stretching 10 miles for speed runs, the SSC achieved its top speed in just 2.3 miles, utilizing almost every inch of the disused 15,000-foot concrete runway at Kennedy Space Center. Conversely, the Bugatti Chiron took a whole 5.4 miles to accelerate to 305 mph — certainly an incredible accomplishment in its own right. 

However, the fact that the Tuatara was reportedly still accelerating when driver Larry Caplin slammed on the brakes means that the SSC likely has more to give, though its last attempt didn't go well. But as far as second-bests go, this one's not too shabby. Let's take a closer look at this extraordinary machine and its variants, the Tuatara Striker and the track-only Aggressor.

Like most hypercars, the SSC Tuatara is a creature of extremes. For starters, you're looking at an eye-watering base price of around $2 million after dealing with a wait-list for one of 100 units. But all that cost brings with it one of the beefiest road cars of all time. Shelby SuperCars (no relation to Shelby American) prides itself on exactly one thing: producing outrageously fast road cars, and the Tuatara's the apex predator of the line.

Power-wise, the Tuatara comes equipped with a bespoke twin-turbo V8 producing 1,750 horsepower on E85 or methanol, coupled to a seven-speed automated manual transmission with sub-100 millisecond shift times. All that sits in a carbon fiber monocoque chassis and body, bringing the weight down to 2,750 pounds (dry). It's not outrageously light, certainly, but it's almost half the weight of the Chiron (and half the price as well). It's this weight which lends the Tuatara its frankly ludicrous acceleration characteristics, that and its aerodynamic profile. In terms of hypercars, SSC claims a best-in-class with a .279 drag coefficient.

In other words, despite the fact that it's road-legal, this isn't exactly a car built for daily driving. It likely offers a far more track-oriented driving experience than the Bugatti or other luxury entries, though it does contain the bare-minimum expected of a car at this price point: namely, a touchscreen display, premium sound (how useful that is on a car this unapologetically savage is anyone's guess) and climate control. But for a truly ridiculous experience, you can opt instead for the track-only variant: the Tuatara Aggressor.

The Tuatara's variants take the hypercar concept to a frankly ridiculous level. The top-level Tuatara Aggressor represents SSC's answer to cars like the Ferrari FXX-K Evo or Pagani Huayra R. They are ultra-fast and ultra-expensive track toys for those with a seven-figure sized bulge in their wallet and an insatiable need for speed. This machine upgrades the base-model's power substantially, now reaching 2200 horsepower on methanol. Not to mention its top speed, likely just as impressive despite the wild aerodynamics — though so far, it seems that nobody's stepped up to test any of the 10 Aggressors that SSC produced to their true limit (not too surprisingly).

Much like the FXX and other track-only hypercars, what makes this car special is its aerodynamics package. The Tuatara Aggressor boasts approximately 1,100 pounds of downforce at 160 mph, thanks to active aerodynamic elements, hyper-aggressive splitter and diffuser, and other major changes which effectively invalidate its road-legal status. Aside from these departures, however, the vehicle remains largely identical to the standard Tuatara, with both models sharing an identical monocoque chassis, interior features, and general design language.

If this proves to be too much, however, there's also the Tuatara Striker, essentially a watered-down Aggressor. Unlike the Aggressor, the Striker is street-legal, while still incorporating many of the wilder aerodynamics in what SSC calls its "multi-role strike fighter." Featuring the same power as the base-model, the aerodynamic load likely brings down the top speed of the Striker, but in exchange it'll significantly improve its cornering performance, producing a car which SSC labels as the best of both worlds.