SSC North America made the headlines in October 2020 when it claimed the Tuatara had averaged 316.11 mph (508.73 km/h). At that time, an absolute top speed of 331.15 mph (532.93 km/h) was touted. However, we all know the initial attempt was tarnished by controversy and the company later admitted those numbers were not entirely accurate. In a bid to fix mistakes of the past, the company teamed up with one of its customers to redo the speed run.
In January 2021, Larry Caplin drove his Tuatara to the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds at Space Florida's Shuttle Landing Facility where he averaged 282.9 mph (455.2 km/h). During his high-speed run on the 2.3-mile stretch of the runway, the owner reached a top speed of 286.1 mph (460.4 km/h). Fast forward to May 14, 2022, he came back to one-up his personal best. Mission accomplished.
SSC Tuatara hits 295 mph at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds
He pushed his Tuatara even further, reaching an impressive velocity of 295.0 mph (474.8 km/h). However, SSC only talks about the outright top speed rather than the average of two runs. Nevertheless, it's a remarkable figure and considerably higher than the 271.6 mph (437.1 km/h) achieved by the Hennessey Venom F5 at the same Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds in Florida back in February.
Both American hypercars are gradually approaching the 300-mph mark, which the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ surpassed by hitting 304.773 mph (490.484 km/h) at the VW Group's Ehra-Lessien test facility a couple of years ago. Koenigsegg is also interested in becoming the new speed king with the Jesko Absolut and its 300+ mph claimed top speed.
Just so there wouldn't be any controversy this time around, SSC mentions all the relevant data was captured by Racelogic, which had a technician present at the event. In addition, an independent analyst was also on location to ensure transparency. The automaker's founder and CEO Jerod Shelby oversaw the whole thing and was left impressed with the Tuatara:
"This car is not even close to reaching its ceiling. All the data and imagery have given us a clear picture that the limiting factor wasn't the car, but the fact we ran out of runway."
Your move, Hennessey and Koenigsegg.
