SSC Aero

SSC Aero

The SSC Ultimate Aero is an American-built mid-engine sports car by SSC North America (formerly known as Shelby SuperCars). The higher-performance limited-production version formerly held the Guinness Book of World Records record for being the fastest production car in the world. The record is currently held by Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, since 2010 when it reached the speed of 431.072 km/h. Recently the record was reverted to the SSC Ultimate Aero but only for a week as Guinness World Records changed its mind once again regarding the testing of the Bugatti: “Following a thorough review conducted with a number of external experts, Guinness World Records is pleased to announce the confirmation of Bugatti’s record of Fastest production car achieved by the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport. The focus of the review was with respect to what may constitute a modification to a car’s standard specification. Having evaluated all the necessary information, Guinness World Records is now satisfied that a change to the speed limiter does not alter the fundamental design of the car or its engine.” The SSC Ultimate Aero does not have electronic aids such as ABS brakes or traction control, as according to Jerod Shelby, "Early design philosophy on the car was to make it a driver's car. I wanted a car that you not only throttled with your right foot but at times you could steer with your right foot."

The Aero and the Shelby SuperCars company are the brainchildren of Jerod Shelby (no relation to late racing driver and sportscar builder Carroll Shelby), who started out building exotic "replicars" including a Fiero-based Ferrari F355 replica and a Lamborghini Diablo replica based on a spaceframe which later was used in the Ultimate Aero prototype. Shelby later moved from building replicas to designing his first supercar and after seven years it finally began to take shape. Both the basic Aero model and the Ultimate Aero are no longer in production.