Last Place on Earth: SSC Ultimate Aero TT headed for... India?
Though we've never been, we often hear that time slows down in India. The pace of life is so different there and so far away from everyday American/Western experience that time feels as if it's crawling. On the opposite end of the spectrum lies the SSC Ultimate Aero TT. A car that while we haven't driven (yet), but have on pretty good authority speeds time up. So what happens if SSC were to stick its super fast chocolate in India's s.l.o.w. peanut butter, so to speak? You'd wind up with a very, very expensive car, speed, or lack thereof, be damned.
If you don't know, the SSC Ultimate Aero TT is the fastest production car in the world. Last time Guinness clocked 'em, the TT went 257 mph -- that's 4 mph faster than a Bugatti Veyron. And course, SSC has long maintained that the Ultimate Aero TT is capable of hitting 271 mph. As such, it's pretty pricey. Expect to pay a hair over $650,000. However, India has some pretty stiff import tariffs, sometimes as high as 100%. And in the case of a
A few things to take away from this admittedly odd piece of auto news. Once it goes on sale, the SSC Ultimate Aero TT will be the most expensive car in India, selling for more than the current champ from Maybach. Not only has India's nouveau riche population manage to ride out and beat the global economic meltdown, but India is minting more millionaires quicker than anywhere else. Not only that, but the luxury (meaning expensive) car market has actually found a way to grow, and in fact grow faster than any other automotive segment. The previously only available in the U.S. and Russian Ultimate Aero TT should be and feel right at home.
Gallery: SSC Ultimate Aero TT
[Source: India Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ACURA23CL 4:04PM (9/22/2009)
I dunno about you guys, but i think the SSC Ultimate Aero is one of the ugliest cars ever made. It's so GENERIC looking. It looks like the supercars that appear on video games that don't have the licensing to model the ACTUAL cars, so they model a generic, look-alike version. That's what the SSC Ultimate Aero looks like...hideous!!!
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James 4:35PM (9/22/2009)
India gets the SSC Ultimate Aero TT, and in exchange the US gets a...Mahindra(!) o_O
Santosh Tiwari 6:40PM (9/22/2009)
Let me be the first one to second you.
soldieroftafari 4:04PM (9/22/2009)
This car looks like its straight out of the 90's and that interior.....
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punkrocksailor 4:12PM (9/22/2009)
That is NOT a production car, it is built in a po-dunk town with an old engine with new parts on it. That said, it has NO records....
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ufgrat 4:44PM (9/22/2009)
Actually, it's a custom-built engine. They stopped using the Ford/GM race engines some time ago.
The Guinness Book people seem to think it has the "Fastest Production Car" record... why don't you?
Or are you in the Jeremy Clarkson camp, and can't comprehend something going faster than a Veyron?
Justin Maldonado 8:44PM (9/22/2009)
It probably has something to do with the fact that the Veyron was electronically limited to 254mph because that was the safest max speed that the custom ultra top speed super tires could go with out risking killing the customer (while still setting the top speed at the time). I doubt the TT has tires anywhere near as capable as the Veyron, but when your only claim to fame is having the current highest top speed then who cares about safety?
Besides, in the time it takes the SSC to reach 257mph, the Veyron can hit 254mph, come to a complete stop, and then take off again and get to well over 220mph. Sure, that's just taken from performance numbers online and real world might be slightly off, but I think it still shows how much ridiculously faster a Veyron really is. There's just no comparison......at least until it comes time to pull out the check book.
rkelcz 10:21PM (9/22/2009)
@ Justin
its only claim to fame isnt being worlds fastest production car it also has the recorded for most hp from a production car (1287) and it also has power to weight ratio record for a production car. The design i think has more to do with aerodynamics then looks
ufgrat 2:58PM (9/23/2009)
@Justin... both cars do 0-60 in slightly under 3 seconds, the Veyron is slightly slower in the quarter mile (10.2 vs. 9.9 seconds, 142mph vs 144)... So how exactly is the Veyron so much faster?
Don't get me wrong, the Veyron is a gorgeous car, and a marvelous piece of engineering... but the SSC guys matched it with half the cylinders, half the turbos, and some pretty nice aerodynamics (and nowhere near the same budget). They didn't match the luxury, or the gee whiz factor... but their engineering accomplishment shouldn't be derided the way it seems to be.
Nellydesign 4:12PM (9/22/2009)
The fastest car in the world to use OEM Ford Focus headlights...
If you are charging $650,000 for a car it better damn well NOT have OEM Ford Focus headlights. Hire a GOOD designer and pay him money to actually design the car so that it doesn't look like a rebodied Fiero built by a 9th grade shop class.
Geez, I hate this car.
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Tony 4:29PM (9/22/2009)
Hmmm I was just about to say that those headlights looked familiar. This car is so ugly, but mechanically it is a beautiful thing. Even Jay Leno was impressed by the mechanical.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/15/video-jay-leno-drives-the-ssc-ultimate-aero-lives/
This car is not going to age well however, they need to spend money on a designer ASAP.
konatown 4:45PM (9/22/2009)
You think this is new practice?
The Lamborghini Diablo used headlights from a Nissan 300ZX.
pmalik 4:50PM (9/22/2009)
My sentiments exactly, that thing looks like it came off the back page of kit-car magazine. Yuck.
Danimal 4:19PM (9/22/2009)
Yeah it's styling is a decade or two old with an interior to match, but for a no name company to come out of nowhere and upstage the Veyron takes some pretty big balls.
Like it or not, "Fastest car in the World" is a pretty honorable title to have.
That said, even if I had the money I wouldn't buy this car, but as a gear-head I applaud there successes.
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gefinley 4:55PM (9/22/2009)
If I had the money it'd probably go to Koenigsegg, possibly over the Veyron even.
henrykrinkle 4:22PM (9/22/2009)
Is that a picture of the interior of the the car or the inside of a car-themed moon bounce?
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Pokey 4:29PM (9/22/2009)
Outdated styling? CHECK!
Horrible interior? CHECK!
Questionable build quality? CHECK!
Do I want one? CHECK!
Who really cares about all of the trivial stuff. When I crash this thing into a wall, and they scrape me out of it, everyone will know that the grease spot that used to be me died with a huge grin on his face!
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Danimal 4:32PM (9/22/2009)
Haha +257
sparrk 4:48PM (9/22/2009)
isn't the 9ff GT9-R the fastest production car ?
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punkrocksailor 5:00PM (9/22/2009)
That's NOT a production car. Name 10 people that own one??? Exactly, the only thing impressive about that thing is the speed it can attain.... However, it's much like the F4 Phantom... You strap a big engine to a piece of garbage and yes, it will go fast but it can't do anything else. From most people in the industry we look at that like a Vector... ok idea, poor execution, little residual value. Whatever claim it has as the worlds fastest production car is a fraud.
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