DETROIT, 9:17 AM, FRI MAY 16 | 38 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@jalopnik.com | SUBMIT A TIP | RSS

SSC Ultimate Aero TT Steals Ford Focus Headlights, Hearts

Bugatti Veyron, you're dead to me; 1001 supposed horsepower? 923 lb-ft of torque? Hobo numbers. Witness the SSC Ultimate Aero TT. Know it, love it, laugh at its Focus SVT headlights, but quiver in fear of its 387 cubic inch, twin-turbocharged joy-production unit. Why? How about 1,081 hp, 961 lb-ft of torque, and a ludicrous theoretical top speed of 273.75 mph. Forbes thought well enough to put it at the top of the 10 fastest American cars list because, um, it's wicked fast. Recently, SSC dropped a whole slew of new multimedia on its website, and it's giving me a warm, fuzzy feeling, like a puppy and a kitten napping in a Santa hat next to a koala cub. Dyno-run videos will do that.

SSC Autos

Related:
Supercar for the Big-and-Tall Set: The SSC Aero SC/8T; Forbes Ranks America's Fastest Cars [Internal]

9:53 AM on Wed Dec 20 2006
By bwojdyla
3,034 views
14 comments

Comments

  • So, umm is Lambo gonna sue over this or what? It looks just like the Diablo.

  • Amazing what they can do with Fieros these days... simply amazing.

  • You laugh at the Ford Focus headlights? I didn't hear any laughing when Mercedes borrowed the design for their flagship sedan.

  • I have one of those fabulous SVT Fucuses and the plastic turned yellow after 2 years. I hope the Veyron doesnt do that.

  • c1josh, those actually ARE Focus headlights. As in, they bought the Ford parts and put them on the car.

  • Vector's New Year resolution.
    1. Come out of obscurity.
    2. Build a street legal hybrid
    3. Target HP 2000
    4. Target top speed 301.99Mph

    Glickenhaus I'm looking at you son.
    BTW.....Looking hot SSC Ultimate Aero TT.
    You earned # 22 on my dream car garage.

  • Fast though it may be (although I put no faith in 'theoretical' top speeds), there is no getting around the fact that it looks like a cheap Diablo replicar built on a Fiero. And why in gods name would they use Focus headlights? They obviously spent good money on development; the lights look like an afterthought, especially since they're not even flush with the body panels. Aerodynamically, I don't see this thing getting to that top speed claim. And I'm almost positive that the build quality will be an issue.

    On their website, they tout that the DuPont Registry put it on the cover and called it the 'ultimate supercar', which is more a product of advertising dollars than any actual merit.

    And don't even get me started on the rear end...

  • actual verified top speed? PSCH, who cares, it's all about theoretical top speed, that's where all the arm chair racers are at. er... right SSC. Any indication if these will be just as reliable as other blown v8 supercars like the koenigsegg (see the first koenigsegg to compete in the gumball, with tow truck and repair crew following it everywhere)? LMAO theoretical top speed, man it's the Ferrari F40 all over again.. Give me a break. Here's some news, the veryon's top speed isn't it's theoretical, theoretical is faster, there just aren't tires in existence which can handle it.

  • gonna need a spoiler to handle at speed like the Koenigsegg on Top Gear :)

    and Das_Anthony, if only! LOLlerskates mean wicked Fiero

  • wohho,

    I understand. "Why redesign every part of your new one-off when you can raid the parts bin."

    I actually like the design of the Focus front end. I believe it's a unique, well thought-out, and cohesive design. The curve of the lights matches the hood, and the plane of the grill is carried into the corners of the lights.

    I think they look decent on this "Ultimate" TT, but they make the Mercedes S class look cheap.

  • but how will it hold up when crashed?

  • Well, koenigsegg's problem with their supercharged V8 is that they designed their own, if I recall correctly. I believe the SSC V8 is based off either a Chevy or Ford V8, and people have been making high-hp supercharged Chevy and Ford V8's for a long time. No mystery there, and I would suspect fairly few reliability problems from them. Only problem I could think of would be the mid engine transaxle to handle that kind of power, but people do it in the Ultima GTR too, so once again I think most problems have been sorted out.

  • It's so very...eighties...

  • If by designing your own you mean a ford modular v8 then yes, in the case of the ccr, they did 'design their own...' ford modular v8.

Start a discussion:

Reply by Email

Login with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.