Tuesday 6th December 2005

New supercar explodes on the scene

SSC Aero: 787bhp and 0-60 in 2.94s

---

Pictures: SSC Autos

A new US supercar is about to explode onto the scene.

Offering 787bhp and 736lb-ft of torque at 5,800 rpm, the 1,300Kg SSC Aero is said to top 230mph, hitting 60mph from rest in a mere 2.94 seconds in the process. This comes from a mid-mounted, aluminium-block and head 6.3-litre supercharged V8 with dual forced-air intercoolers. The lump was sourced from a Corvette C5R.

Braking is supplied by 356mm discs gripped by six-pot callipers inside forged three-piece alloy wheels, 245/45/18 front, 345/30/19 rear. Suspension at the front is unequal length upper and lower wishbones with coil-over springs/adjustable tube dampers, and unequal length upper rocker and lower wishbones with horizontally opposed adjustable coil-over springs and adjustable tube dampers at the rear. The body is built from carbon fibre over a steel spaceframe chassis.

It's no stripped-out single-seater either, as electric windows, locks, aircon, a ten-speaker audio system, and a7.5-inch DVD screen are all standard.

And if that's not enough, there's a hotter version on the way, the Ultimate Aero, with 821lb-ft of torque and 1046bhp.

The car has completed trials, was displayed at the Las Vegas SEMA show, and is now in the loving hands of the US motoring press. It's likely to be priced around $239,000 (about £138,000), which offers a lot of car for your money. The company said it's ready to take orders.

Florida-based SSC stands for Shelby Super Cars -- there's also no news as to whether we're going to see it here but we'd like to...

Correction: The correct price for the Aero is $544,500 (£314,300) -- not quite such a bargain...

• SSC Autos

[GTRene]

Welcom new supercar, it certanly looks like one...I think it looks a bit like a Lambo(also the doors shape, wingdoors?) and on the front a bit corvette...wich is not a bad thing!
And if that's not enough, there's a hotter version on the way, the Ultimate Aero, with 821lb-ft of torque and 1046bhp!

with that weight it would blast the Bugg Veyron to second? with good traction I guess...

GTRene

>> Edited by GTRene on Tuesday 6th December 11:14

[dezza87]

watch out Bugatti Vernon. The Areo sprint of 2.94sec 0-60mph is only 0.5sec slower than the Bugatti and 200-300bhp less. And a stagering £701,285 cheaper. Wonder what the 1046bhp version will be like.

[mkgriff]

Agreed re the looks. I think they could have used a little more imagination on the front end (obviously we can't see the back).

But value for money, wow!!

The stig could have some fun with a built in DVD to watch through Hammer head

[chrisjl]

dezza87 said:

The Areo sprint of 2.94sec 0-60mph is only 0.5sec slower than the Bugatti and 200-300bhp less.

It gets increasingly harder to do though. 2.7s is 1g, which is impossible to break unless you can generate more grip than your mass really entitles you to (generally through downforce, which you don't benefit from until you've already built up some speed).

[rigs]

Just because you're pulling >1 latteral G doesn't reduce the amount of grip you have to the road?
Dragsters etc... routinely break 1s to 60mph without defying the laws of physics.

[jackass]

Dragsters rely on the fact that the wheels stick to the ground, and thus are not using conventional friction. You can get a bit more than 1g from the right tyres on the right surface, imagine the teeth of a gear. BUT you can't do that everyday on a every surface.

[alanc5]

rigs said:

Just because you're pulling >1 latteral G doesn't reduce the amount of grip you have to the road? Dragsters etc... routinely break 1s to 60mph without defying the laws of physics.

The previous poster was referring to grip generated by downforce though, which dragsters dont have initially because they treat/burn the tires.

[chickensoup]

Read as far as the built in DVD player, then lost interest; guessing that neons come with it to.

Why in Gods name would you put a DVD player in a two seater?

[UKBob]

chickensoup said:

Why in Gods name would you put a DVD player in a two seater?

Its attached to the telescope which lets drivers know if there are any cars within a mile or two ahead, to prevent late braking accidents

Very nice indeed! Almost makes a lambo seem tame, compared.

[GTRene]

chickensoup said:

Read as far as the built in DVD player, then lost interest; guessing that neons come with it to. Why in Gods name would you put a DVD player in a two seater?

Not when driving such fast car! maybe its a multi thing? so you can put in navigation disks as well...? otherwise I see no real function and only weight...
but at around 1300kg it does fine with all the goodies, combine that with 1048hp and sticky tires and you've got a real good 1/4 mile time!
You need perfect conditions though with that power and good tires and surface...maybe on the 1048hp version even wider tires then the 345? on the "standard" version..
at least its not that heavy fast tank as the Veyron...
GTRene

[racingsnake]

There's much more to it than grip and horse power though. G force at these levels isn't relevant. Superbikes regularly beat 2.7s without resorting to grip juice or burnouts. They have bad areodynamics and one driving wheel with a small contact patch. It's a lot to do with gearing and power to weight ratios. The trick is maintaining a high top speed with gearing that still allows a fast start without leaving big gaps in the ratios. You can this with more gears hence we now have 6 speed sequential boxes - like bikes have had for ages. Rallycross cars of the 80's could do 2.5s on mixed surfaces through low gearing, turbo's and four wheel drive etc. To be honest what relevance is 0-60 to a supercar anyway thats probably just a reflection of how long or short the first gear ratio is. Standing quarter is more of a measure of acceleration.

[wab172uk]

IMHO, I doubt if there will be may takers. It just seems like a tuned up Diablo. That in itself would put me off.

Original car design anyone???? That's how Zonda succeeded.

[havoc]

wab172uk said:

IMHO, I doubt if there will be may takers. It just seems like a tuned up Diablo. That in itself would put me off. Original car design anyone???? That's how Zonda succeeded.

There'll be takers - the headline numbers alone will see to that. Probably mainly across the Atlantic though...

[baskey]

I've said it before and i'll say it again - I just can't get past the (very obvious) Focus headlights and facsimilie Lambo styling. I'd rather go a bit slower in a Saleen..

[tomtvr]

I prefer the looks of the ME Four Twelve if i wanted a rediculously fast soulless american supercar.

[chrisjl]

rigs said:

Just because you're pulling >1 latteral G doesn't reduce the amount of grip you have to the road? Dragsters etc... routinely break 1s to 60mph without defying the laws of physics.

Longitudinal?
Physics says you exert a force on the ground of mass x g, and that the horizontal force before slippage is the product of that and the coefficient of friction (which is <1).
Of course dragsters don't break the laws of physics, but they do have a few tricks up their sleeves that a road car doesn't. For example, when the tyres go from flat and wide to tall and thin, the mass of the engine is accelerated upwards, meaning the force on the ground is greater than the that due to the mass alone - more force, more grip, more acceleration.

[nel]

I think the supercar "more power" race is great, but it's going to end in tears. Still, full credit to them for being none-PC and going for it. I reserve judgement on the beast itself until more is known about it.

[ErnestM]

RE: The DVD...

DVD Audio anyone?

ErnestM

[silver993tt]

So when it breaks down in Europe, I can rely on the dealer network to fixe it?....er, I don't think so. No history, no class, jelly mould.

[paulie-mafia]

A worthy car, but let's face it, you'd have to have bought up every model made by Maclaren, Bugatti, Aston, Ferrari, Lambo etc before you'd blow any of your spare cash on one of these. That's the Sultan of Brunai and Jay Leno on the waiting list then...

lol