American supercar maker Shelby Supercars has unveiled a new name its next-generation supercar: Tuatara (pronounced twu-tar-ah).
Now, provided the more puerile among you (including us in the PH office) have stopped sniggering, allow the Shelby Supercars press release to explain. Far from being related to a word for a lady's unmentionables, the name 'Tuatara' was "inspired by a modern day New Zealand reptile that bears the same name. A direct descendent of the dinosaur, this reptile's name translated from the Maori language means "peaks on the back," which is quite fitting, given the winglets on the back of the new car."
Okay... and the press bumf goes on: "While the Tuatara is a very unique creature, there was a particular property of this reptile that immediately married it with SSC. The Tuatara possesses the fastest evolving DNA in the world, and amongst the world's greatest supercar manufacturers, so does SSC."
Eh? "Most manufacturers essentially use the same basic model and body shape for up to 10 years, while only making small refinements to it each year. After only three years in production with the Ultimate Aero, SSC's Tuatara is about to monumentally evolve in the areas of sophistication, design, aerodynamics and shear all-around performance. We felt that the fastest evolving DNA was a perfect definition of SSC's latest project." Oh, we see. Sort of.
But will the Tuatara be able to go faster than its predecessor, the 257mph Second-Fastest Car In The World (they'll love you for calling it that - Ed) and beat the 268mph Bugatti Veyron Super Sport? Shelby certainly hopes so - especially with a 1350bhp 6.8-litre twin-turbo V8, sleek bodywork penned by Jason Castriota and a targeted top speed of 275mph...
SSC Tuatara
eGarage
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