SSC Introduces New Track-Focused Tuatara Variants
SSC has unveiled ‘Tuatara Striker’ and ‘Tuatara Aggressor’; two track-focused variants of the company’s formidable LS V8-based hypercar.
SSC managed to secure a big accolade amidst the ongoing pandemic. Back in 2020, the automaker’s Tuatara hypercar was awarded the title of the world’s fastest production car. Tuatara is quite an exciting machine, to begin with, thanks to its 1750 HP LS V8-based powerplant, but now the company has decided to up the ante and unveiled two new variants of the hypercar.
“The Tuatara is designed and built to be a show of force wherever it goes. Whether it’s a drive through town, a high-speed pass down a runway, or laps around a technical track, it excels at whatever the driver engages the car to do,” said Founder and CEO Jerod Shelby.
The models are more track-focused, feature refreshed styling, and have even been re-tuned to produce more power. SSC decided that it would be a good idea to bump up the power of this midship monster from 1750 HP to a blistering 2200 HP of maximum power. The two variants are called ‘Tuatara Striker’ and ‘Tuatara Aggressor’, and the latter is the proud recipient of the updated powerplant.
The Aggressor’s power output was bumped up with the help of SSC’s twin-turbo V8 upgrade option. The SSC Aggressor also gets an upgraded exhaust system, but unfortunately, this model is not road legal, and the company has announced that it will only produce 10 examples of this track-only hypercar.
Both models have been designed to generate high downforce, and SSC motors will only produce 100 examples of Striker. The company claims that it managed to triple the downforce of the Striker with the help of a range of aerodynamic components. These include components like an active rear wing, augmented diffuser, a high-downforce fixed-wing, and vertical stabilizers, which approximately deliver 1,100 lbs of downforce at 160 MPH.
The striker also gets a large front splitter, integrated frontal dive planes, and directional vanes on the side rockers, which have been designed to regulate the downforce ensuring that 54.6% of the force generated is displaced towards the rear of the car and the rest is focused on the front end.
“Every aesthetic change and aero element has a distinct purpose to create downforce with minimum drag penalty and the added benefit of giving the car an incredibly aggressive and purposeful aesthetic. All told we spent over 1000 hours in CFD to fine-tune the aero package which delivers nearly three times the downforce of the high speed package at 160 mph. The end result is a design that is equally dramatic and pure as the high speed record car, but with a unique character all its own.” said Tuatara’s designer, Jason Castriota.
Photos: SSC