OC Auto Show: SSC Aero
Tucked away in a corner of the OC Auto Show Underground, where tuners come out to play, we found an SSC Aero. Sitting amidst a Novitec Ferrari F430, a Superformance LeMans Coupe, a Mosler that still had Bullrun stickers on it, the SSC nonetheless managed to stand out. The car is still a bit of an enigma, but promises to be one of the world's fastest cars once it gets into the hands of testers. We volunteered to probe the claimed top speed of 260 mph, but were politely denied. Click the read link to find out more about the car from our friends at Fast-Autos.net who saw three of the SSCs up in Monterey last year.
This is another one of those worlds'-fastest-car contenders that has yet to prove its claims, but on paper it should be up to the challenge. With a Corvette-based 6.2 liter, turbocharged V-8 producing over 1,000 hp, 250 sounds like a breeze. The curb weight is about the same as the Koenigsegg CCX at 2,640 pounds, so the extra 200 hp should make it a bit quicker too. Hopefully SSC will invite us out to track test it like the Swedes did.
(more photos after the jump)
[Source: Fast-Autos.net]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
johndoe 8:08PM (10/04/2006)
Awesome car, but 650k seems to be pushing it.. The car to me just seems like a kit car
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Spaceweasel 10:29PM (10/04/2006)
Yawn. Another would be supercar whose only claim to fame is unuseable top speed and ridiculous HP. At least the Bugatti is an uber GT. At least the Spyker has over the top styling. At least the Enzo has pedigree. At least the Carrera GT has technical excelence. What do these boys bring ot the table? A blown Corvette engine and blah styling. Give me an Ariel Atom any dauy of the week.
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gkz 8:54PM (10/04/2006)
do you have to pay extra for the puke color?
as for volunteering to test the top speed of a car that wasn't made with the engineering expertise of, oh i don't know, ferrari or the entire vw/audi group.... umm, no thanks.
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Robert 10:10PM (10/04/2006)
"kit car" "yawn" "puke color"
How jaded has the Autoblog nation become?
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RDL 10:21PM (10/04/2006)
Ho-Hum...
Caparo T1 FTW!!!
http://www.caparo-t1.com/
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ocnj179 1:02AM (10/05/2006)
So you guys are telling me this car wouldn't drop your jaw if it stopped next to you at the light? Yea it seems like a kit car or whatever but you can't deny it's a nice looking car.
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gkz 1:36AM (10/05/2006)
robert - how would you describe this color?
ocnj179 - this would absolutely get my attention at a light. however, i think you're confusing "eye-catching" or "stunning" with beauty.
so no, i don't think it's nice looking, not does it appear to be especially well finished; but of course i would take one. i may be picky and slightly cynical, but i'm not stupid.
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gkz 1:37AM (10/05/2006)
i meant "nor". sorry, it's late
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DPC car videos 4:21AM (10/05/2006)
Super lightweight and 1000HP, when will this end.
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dreesemonkey 8:18AM (10/05/2006)
Ahhhh, all the haters come out of the woodwork. Because the vast majority of us will never own, drive, or even see one of these supercars I guess that's the green light to start whining and complaining. Looks like a pretty damn nice car to me.
It would be nice if I could design and build my own supercar, but then I'd have to put up with the people driving beat-up Jettas telling me how much better the Enzo and Koenigsegg is.
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menice 8:34AM (10/05/2006)
you're all whacked.
there is no way anyone who knows about body kits would think this looks like a kit.
there are no seems/lines, look at that damn door jam ....never saw a kit's look that solid
this car is stunning, you're not a fan of gold and black, understood. (ok the gold could be golder) but man if your puking that color go to the doctor.
any one who says they would NOT test drive this car is simply on this blog to make crappy comments no matter what car Autoblog posts.
THE CAR:
-would have been nice to see the front end.
-visability out the back must be tough but so what, I'd never look back.
-not a fan of white speedo
not the most unique-est design but like the man said.
you'd all be ooogling the car if it was in the lot next to you, and telling the driver how cool it is.
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Cameron 8:37AM (10/05/2006)
I'm not trying to hate on the car, but the interior leaves much to be desired. Aside from that - nice car!
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menice 8:43AM (10/05/2006)
"9. Super lightweight and 1000HP, when will this end."
hopefully it doesn't you big duh. in case you havent noticed, the car design world has always been about making things lighter, faster, more efficent, and eye appealing.
hope they get to 2000hp soon! why? because they aim for it and strive to reach for it. (you ever have a goal?)
why do tuners tune? to get the most out of a car.
same thing mankind has done since the begining.
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Rex 9:19AM (10/05/2006)
isn't ssc linked w/ carroll shelby? this is no kit car, my friends
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New Yorker 9:46AM (10/05/2006)
I’ve seen the SSC Aero parked next to an Enzo and believe me, parked next to a Ferrari, Porsche, etc; this looks like a kit car. In person the body panels don’t look like shapely metal but rounded soft plastic.
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JS 10:03AM (10/05/2006)
Ill take a Nobel M400, Lotus Exige S, or Ariel Atom over this big brute. HP is only so much fun, I would rather have a very spirited car that accelerates well, handles superbly and can spank the pants off this bad boy in the slalom anyday.
I mean, 260mph sounds cool and the car doesnt look half bad but for 650K I could have all three of the above, a garage to house them and a new house! Plus 260 is not going to be attained on any roads around me so I would rather have a car than can take the turns better...what is the saying...ah yes "power is nothing without control" (pirelli maybe?)
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gkz 10:16AM (10/05/2006)
dreesemonkey & menice:
you're right - nobody is allowed to be critical of any part of this car. if you think it is a good looking car - fine; i don't.
menice: "any one who says they would NOT test drive this car is simply on this blog to make crappy
comments no matter what car Autoblog posts."
what i said is that i wouldn't volunteer to test a very high top speed in an unproven car; i never said i wouldn't drive it. thank you for making insulting generalizations based on your poor reading comprehension.
as i said before, of course it is striking, of course it is fast, and of course i'd love to have one... but i don't HAVE to think it looks very good.
i'm sure you'll find ways to misinterpret this in order to call me a "hater" because i don't agree with you.
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Spaceweasel 10:38AM (10/05/2006)
Robert- Perhaps “jaded” isn’t an accurate pejorative in this situation. We’ve seen a plethora of so-called supercars come down the pike in recent times. Why should this excite us? The derivative styling certainly doesn’t warrant any drooling. It is effectively interchangeable with any number of mid-engined sportsters (Galmer Arbitrage / Mossler MT900 / Saleen S7 to name a few). At least the likes of Pagini, Caparo, and Spyker are willing to play with the formula a bit. The engineering doesn’t stir the soul, either. It’s not revolutionary (Tesla’s electric powertrain), outlandish (VW groups W engine configurations), or exotic (Ferrari’s continued material integration innovation). The interior is far short of the price tag in both quality and design (see Spyker, Bugatti, Pagini, et al).Unlike, say, the Mitsuoka Orochi, there isn’t anything offensive here (Unless you call $650,000.00 for an unproven unknown offensive). Sure, 1000HP is a big, big number. Sure, 250 MPH is really, really fast. But why should we care?
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menice 10:56AM (10/05/2006)
gkz: never called you a hater. guess your comprehension blows also.
anyone can have an opinion, just don't diagree with me.
and hell's yea, i'd take a lotus over this or a noble.
but the comments shredding this car, and almost every other car on the blog irritated me.
sorry if i fly off.
just cant believe they post a car like this and the reactions are
"puke color"
"1000 hp and lightweight.why?"
"ho-hum"
"yawn"
???????? wtf people.
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jfrolang 11:25AM (10/05/2006)
Why do supercars always have unconventional doors? Just to be different I guess. I have no problem getting in and out of my car every day with ordinary doors. At least the Koenigsegg did something that's never been done, these SSC doors look the same as the Enzo and McLaren F1. Highly regarded vehicles to be sure, but nothing new. I was very happy when I heard that the Gallardo would have traditional doors.
As for the interior, it's definitely not befitting of a car with such a pricetag. The gauge cluster looks the same as the Koenigsegg's. The dash is very plain.
I'd also like to know the coefficient of drag. It looks sleek, but there's no way to guess how well the underbody was designed. Does it produce enough downforce to remain stable at 240+? The Koenigseggs apparently had this problem without the rear spoiler.
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