World’s Fastest Production Car: Now in Electric?

I guess it’s not enough to build the fastest production car in the world.

Shelby SuperCars makes the 1,183-horsepower Ultimate Aero, the car that currently holds the title of World’s Fastest Production Car. How fast does it go? Well the speedometer on the 2008 model goes up to “only” 260, while the 2009 model should be capable of burying the needle at 270 mph. Holy smokes - sounds like it’s time to install a 300-mph speedometer!

To put this car in a little bit of perspective, the Ultimate Aero outperforms the Bugatti Veyron and every Ferrari and Lamborghini ever made. One would assume that SSC, a small company located in the small eastern Washington town of Richland, would be content with their record. But no, they want another record: World’s Fastest Production Electric Car.

Enter the Ultimate Aero EV, which is being built to showcase SSC’s new green powertrain. That’s exciting in itself, but here’s what really gets my blood boiling: The Ultimate Aero EV produces 1,000 horsepower, has 100% torque available at 0 RPM, rockets to 60 in an astonishing 2.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 208 mph.

SSC also claims 150-200 miles on a single charge, with a 10-minute recharge on a 110-volt outlet. That means you could plug your supercar into the same outlet that powers your toaster.

Now that the jaw-dropping specs are out of the way, I can get into the other cool part: The same powertrain that propels the Aero EV can be customized for different applications - a 200-hp version for a family sedan, a 500-hp version for an SUV, or up to 1,200 hp for commercial vehicle applications.

If the Ultimate Aero EV performs as advertised, the implications are huge. SSC could feasibly be producing electric vehicles that regular people might actually need. Affording them might be a different story, though, as the gas-powered Ultimate Aero can easily reach $650K.

According to SSC, deliveries of the Ultimate Aero EV should begin as early as the 4th quarter of this year, with automotive journalists set to witness its glory in the 2nd quarter. 

We’ll keep you posted!

Do you think it makes sense to build electric supercars? More importantly, would you want one?

-tgriffith

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