New SSC Tuatara Hypercar Revealed at Philadelphia Auto Show

Dr. Larry Caplin, founder of CF Charities, is announced as the owner of the first 2020 SSC Tuatara hypercar with his car’s first official reveal in Philadelphia.

Each year The CF Charities Super Car Show tours the USA, hosting supercar displays at various events to raise raises funds towards education and home support initiatives for local high school and college students in need.

It was at this years Philadelphia Auto Show, that the first customer Tuatara was unveiled at the CF Charities supercar display with founder Larry Caplin, “a lifelong car guy from Philly”, revealed as its new owner.

One of only 100 to be built, the SSC Tuatara has been 10 years in design and is produced by SSC North America (formerly Shelby Supercars Inc.) at their Headquarters in Richland, Washington. Originally codenamed “Exceed”, the Tuatara hypercar had big shoes to fill given that its predecessor, the SSC Ultimate Aero, held the Guinness World Record for Fastest Production Car In The World from 2007 to 2010.

With this in mind, SSC North America Founder and CEO Jerod Shelby set out to gather the right team of people to bring the Tuatara to life, collaborating with automotive designer Jason Castriota (previously designed for Ferrari and Maserati) on the aerodynamic design with the dihedral doors and bringing in specialised talent from local Washington aerospace design firms and suppliers to consult and work on the carbon fiber body.

To power this hyper-machine, SSC North America engineers worked with Tom Nelson of Nelson Racing Engines to design a bespoke engine from the from the ground-up. The result is a SSC Twin Turbo V8 with a reportedly groundbreaking intake system capable of producing 1,350 horsepower with 91 octane or 1,750 horsepower with E85.

Having been in development since 2009, SSC North America had early hopes of once again claiming the Fastest Production Car In The World by reaching a top speed of 300mph, however since Bugatti hit 304.77mph with a modified Chiron last year it remains to be seen if there is any extra left in the tank to take it the extra mile…. only faster.

While no price has currently been revealed for the remaining Tuatara’s, in 2013 it was said to be priced at $1.3 million USD.