This forgotten supercar once had the fastest 0-60 time in the world

When we think of American supercars, we conjure up images of the Hennessey Venom F5/GT, Ford Mustang GTD and Chevy C8 Corvette, to name just a few modern heavy hitters. However, there is another model from a much smaller company that had a major influence on future supercars to come out of the United States and beyond.

SSC North America, a Washington-based manufacturer of high-performance automobiles, has been developing record-breaking machines since the late 1990s, with one of their first models taking on the indomitable Bugatti Veyron. And while it didn’t hold the 0-60 mph record for long before the Veyron’s quad-turbo W-16 engine launched the million-dollar supercar at blistering speeds, it did have an impact on American performance tuning and design that remains relevant to this day. Let’s check it out!

The SSC Ultimate Aero was for a short time the fastest car from 0 to 100 km/h

SSC North America is a company founded by Jerod Shelby (no relation to Carroll Shelby) in 1998, and was originally called Shelby Supercars Inc. Although the upstart American supercar manufacturer was not eager to ride the iconic Carroll Shelbys nor fight in court for the trademark, the company’s name was changed to SSC North America to differentiate their products and the company’s valuation from the high-performance muscle car tuner. SSC North America’s first production model to hit the market was the Ultimate Aero, a sleek supercar with unprecedented capabilities.

2007 SSC Ultimate Aero specs

The SSC Ultimate Aero featured a powerful supercharged LS-based V-8 capable of delivering impressive power: 1,183 hp at 6,950 rpm to be precise. Thanks to its lightweight carbon body and incredible aerodynamics, the Ultimate Aero was able to reach speeds of 430 km/h, with wind tunnel testing estimates pointing to more.

The production model became a springboard for SSC and American supercars in general, in that it represented the United States’ first real answer to the foreign supercars that dominated the upper echelon of modern performance. This isn’t to ignore the foundation laid by models like the Ford GT that launched around the same time as the Ultimate Aero, just that the Ultimate Aero was intended to dominate beyond the Blue Oval’s on-track praise.

The SSC Ultimate Aero changed the face of American performance

While there were numerous models, including the Chevy Corvette and Dodge Viper, that upped the intensity on the performance front, they all featured typical American performance cues, such as a long hood with a large engine underneath, conventional opening doors, and muscular contours.

When the SSC Ultimate Aero arrived on the scene, it looked like something straight out of an Italian factory, with a short, slanted nose, butterfly doors and a sleek, exotic stance that would challenge the global supremacy of supercars that hosted brands like Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bugatti, the latter of which would duke it out with SCC for the better part of a decade.

The short, yet impactful 0-60 MPH record run of the ultimate Aero

The SSC Ultimate Aero could sprint from a standstill to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, which in 2005, when it ran this time, was enough to earn it the title of fastest car in the world from 0-100 km/h. Unfortunately for the Ultimate Aero, there was a European machine on the horizon that was about to set the standard for speed and would soon take over the title of American supercar. That model? The Bugatti Veyron, a brutal vehicle that still strikes fear in the hearts of many supercar manufacturers.

The Bugatti Veyron, which later ran from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds in 2005, would become the pinnacle of performance for the next decade, quickly eclipsing the praise of the SSC Ultimate Aero in less than a year. The Veyron packed an 8.0-liter W-16 quad-turbo engine in its trunk, sending power to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Additionally, it had a specialized launch control function, which, combined with the aforementioned benefits, gave the Bugatti more power, control, traction, and torque delivery than the Ultimate Aero, which used a 6.3-liter supercharged V-8, RWD, and a five-speed manual transmission at the time of its record-setting performance.

Although its star was short-lived, the Ultimate Aero showed the record-setting potential of modern American tuners and opened the door for companies like Hennessey and later Czinger to expand their ideas and push their high-quality product into the mainstream. Also, models like the Saleen S7, which came before the Ultimate Aero, were able to gain some attention thanks to the growing global and domestic interest in American supercars.

The ultimate Aero evolves

Although the 0 to 100 km/h record was set and then promptly broken, that did not stop SSC from pursuing the pinnacle of performance. In 2007, the Ultimate Aero would return with a twin-turbocharged trim (TT) and set a Guinness World Recordthis time for top speed, clocking an average of 256.14 MPH. This was enough, even if only marginally, to surpass its rival, the Bugatti Veyron, whose unofficial record stood at 253 MPH. This earned the SSC Ultimate Aero TT the title of the fastest production car in the world, breaking the official Guinness World Record of 242 MPH held by the Koenigsegg CCR.

Although it was an impressive figure and enough for a world record record, SSC claimed that the Ultimate Aero TT could go even faster! Through wind tunnel testing and some big-brained supercar math, SSC engineers estimated that the Ultimate Aero would be stable at speeds up to 430 km/h.

SSC enjoyed the title of ‘fastest production car’ for three years, until Bugatti came knocking again – this time with a souped-up Veyron they called the Super Sport. The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport was able to surpass the Ultimate Aero TT’s top speed by more than 16 km/h, with a final speed of 267.9 km/h, once again taking the speed title from SSC.

Ultimate Aero TT upgrades in all departments

The Ultimate Aero TT’s record power was due to upgrades it received in 2007, when SSC introduced the twin-turbocharged Ultimate Aero. Using SSC’s proprietary twin-turbo design, the Ultimate Aero TT was able to far exceed its original design specifications in all areas, with a dominant output of 1,183 horsepower and 1,094 pound-feet of torque, making it the most powerful production car of the time. While the heart of the Ultimate Aero TT is impressive, the lightweight carbon body and finely tuned chassis are also key players in the vehicle’s overall capabilities, with a greater focus on precise handling and driving dynamics, as well as power, pushing the TT beyond its limits.

“What’s all that power if you’re not comfortable?” A thought that may have occurred to the good folks at SCC North America when designing the cabin of the production version of their supercar prototype. Standard cabin features include supple leather and suede surfaces, custom Recaro seats, a premium sound system, GPS, a reversing camera and a cabin-controlled suspension system.

The last hurray of the ultimate Aero!

After nearly a decade of record-breaking performance, the definitive version of the Ultimate Aero, the XT, came with a new powerplant that once again raised the bar. The SSC Ultimate Aero XT featured a 6.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 that produced 1,300 horsepower and 1,004 pound-feet of torque.

Paired with a seven-speed SMG triple-clutch transmission, SSC theorized that the Ultimate Aero XT could reach speeds of 275 mph. The XT featured a number of features that would appear on the upcoming Tuatara, a record-breaking model in its own right, and was in very limited production of just five examples.

Contemporary fame

The SSC Ultimate Aero will forever be part of speed history, with its influence and innovation continuing to make an impact in today’s top speed community. That said, it never achieved the full prestige its record-setting performance deserves. In 2018 there was even an offer for a used SSC Ultimate Aero TT with less than 3,000 kilometers for more than 50 percent of the recommended retail price.

In 2021 the The 2007 Ultimate Aero TT with chassis #001 would fetch $400,000 at auction; it’s still listed as ‘Not Sold’, which is a shame because it’s a literal piece of history. While the price doesn’t dictate its value, it shows a general disinterest in the model, with European rivals including Ferrari, McLaren, Bugatti and more all still charging a premium for their high-performance models. In other words, you won’t find a rare, top-spec Ferrari for less than double the MSRP.