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SSC Tuatara revealed with up to 1,750 horsepower, with 300 mph record in mind

Seven years after the concept made its debut at Pebble Beach, the production SSC Tuatara is finally here. And, impressively, it seems to deliver on exactly what was promised with the concept, from the exterior to the engine specs. The body looks nearly identical to that initial shape designed by Jason Castriota, the man behind the Bertone Mantide, Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina and the Saab PhoeniX concept. It has the jet-fighter cockpit, rocket-like nose, and winglets at the back that could make a ’59 Cadillac jealous. The company claims it’s seriously slippery, too, with a coefficient of drag of 0.276, which the company also points out is slicker than the Bugatti Chiron, Koenigsegg Agera and Hennessey Venom F5. The only major change seems to be at the back, which features substantially more open grille-work, perhaps to cool the monstrous engine underneath.

The engine is a twin-turbocharged V8 with a displacement of 5.9 liters that Shelby Supercars co-developed with Nelson Racing Engines, a company that specializes in high-performance versions of GM, Ford and Mopar V8s. The turbos feed into dual water-to-air intercoolers, and fuel comes via pairs of injectors to each cylinder. The engine also features a flat-plane crank that likely helps it reach its screaming 8,800 rpm redline. Two power ratings are quoted for the engine. The first of 1,350 horsepower is the same as what the company quoted back in 2011, and it is achieved on 91 octane gasoline. The other is a shocking 1,750 horsepower, which is available when using E85 ethanol. Power goes to the rear wheels through a seven-speed automated sequential manual transmission.

SSC is also promising a potential record-beating top speed. The company says it’s confident it will hit roughly 300 mph with the car, which is substantially more than the less aerodynamic Koenigsegg Agera RS’s current record of 277.9 mph. It’s also the same top speed Hennessey is targeting for the Venom F5. We have reason to believe SSC can pull this off, since the company’s previous car, the SSC Ultimate Aero, held the official world record for top speed for a while in the mid- to late-2000s, beating the Bugatti Veyron.

We imagine a top speed run isn’t too far into the future, since the company says it’s ready to begin producing the Tuatara at its facility in West Richland, Wash. It’s also taking pre-orders right now for what will be a much larger production run than initially planned. Originally, SSC planned on building just up to 40 examples, but it will now build 100. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but the company said the car would probably cost a bit over $1 million back in 2011. That may be higher now that seven years of inflation and such have passed.

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August 26, 2018 / Comments Off

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Ferrari 488 Pista Spider drops its top in the sun at Pebble Beach

Ferrari, as Ferrari does, has been moving fast. In the space of just five months, we were introduced to the new Ferrari 488 Pista at the Geneva Motor Show, had the chance to drive a Pista prototype and then a production version of the $345,300 supercar, and finally we were tantalized by the mere-mortals-can’t-have it Pista Piloti Ferrari. Now Ferrari has its latest Special Series variant at Pebble Beach, the Ferrari 488 Pista Spider concept.

Ferrari says it is the 50th convertible in company history and has the lowest weight-power ratio yet in a droptop at 1.92 kg/cv (or about 4.22 pounds per horsepower). That equation is helped in no small part by 710 horsepower, driving a car with a dry weight of just 3,036 pounds — it’s that slight if you’ve checked all the boxes for lightweighting options, that is. That’s about 200 pounds more than the coupe, but Ferrari says this car still does 0-to-62 in 2.85 seconds and has the same 211 mph top speed.

Ferrari says it maintained the aerodynamics of the coupe, and the convertible also shares the coupe’s lightweighting from gobs of carbon fiber and simplification. The driver’s door handle is a mere strap.

This species of Spider can be identified by a central stripe down its back, which, Ferrari says in its announcement, “recalls the movement of the airflow and exalts the lines of the car.” The blue stripes over a white body also happen to be traditional racing colors of the United States, another nod to the car’s debut site and America’s love of convertibles.

Assisting the car’s at-the-limits driving dynamics is a new lateral control system called the Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer. The Spider has 20-inch diamond-finish alloy wheels with berlinetta rims, though you can opt for one-piece carbon-fiber wheels offering a 20 percent weight reduction.

No mention of whether the 488 Pista Spider will enter production, but Ferrari notes the popularity of its droptops in the U.S., so we’re going to assume it’s happening. And if Lamborghini can do a droptop version of its hardcore Huracan Performante, why shouldn’t Ferrari with the Pista?

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August 26, 2018 / Comments Off

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2018 Monterey Car Week Mega Photo Gallery | Beauty abounds

From Pebble Beach to The Quail to Laguna Seca to Carmel, Monterey Car Week as usual has offered a wealth — and wealth certainly is the operative word — of sumptuous, fabulous vehicles. Here is our gallery of galleries, with links to our coverage, as an overview to the event.

The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering

Gooding & Company Pebble Beach Auction: Broadcast coverage

2019 Acura NSX: a refresh and an eye-catching new color

Audi PB18 E-Tron: electric supercar with a sometimes-center seat

2019 BMW Z4: M40i Roadster First Edition says hello at Pebble Beach

Bugatti Divo: $6 million supercar revealed, and all 40 are already spoken for

Genovation GXE: The world’s fastest, fully electric Corvette

Gunther Werks Porsche 911 Sport Touring:

Hennessey Venom F5 engine: 1,600-hp billet-aluminum twin-turbo V8

Infiniti Prototype 10: Speedster points the way to an electric future

Jaguar E-Type Zero: Electric classics will enter production

Lamborghini Aventador SVJ: V12-powered carbon-fiber flagship

McLaren Senna #002: First Drive Review: What’s in a name

Polestar 1: North American debut

Rimac C_Two California Edition: Drunk on its power at Monterey Car Week

Singer Vehicle Design Dynamics and Lightweighting Study: Bespoke Porsche 911

1963 Aston Martin DP215 at RM Sotheby’s:

1962 Ferrari 250 GTO at RM Sotheby’s:

1966 Ford GT40 Mk II at RM Sotheby’s:

August 25, 2018 / Comments Off

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2017 Monterey Car Week | Visual feast of ravishing cars

It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. We criss-crossed the Monterey Peninsula, going from Pebble Beach to Carmel-on-the-Sea and places in between, seeking out the most beautiful, the most significant and occasionally, the wildest cars on display. Here are the highlights in all their photographic glory.

Ferrari 70th Anniversary at Pebble Beach: We hope you like red

2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Details: Taking a closer look at the best of the best

2017 Monterey Motorsports Reunion: It’s like stepping through time over and over again

2017 Quail Motorsports Gathering: Another opportunity to see new and classic exotics

2017 Pebble Beach Concept Car Lawn: The latest concepts on a lawn (plus a few non-concepts)

BMW Concept Z4 at Pebble Beach: We get our first look at the next-generation roadster

First U.S. Bugatti Chiron Delivery: The first Chiron is delivered to a U.S. customer

Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta: Mr. Pagani gets his very own Zonda and it’s really cool

Infiniti Prototype 9 at Pebble Beach: What if Infiniti had a race team in the 1950s?

Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet at Pebble Beach: The Maybach 6 is back, now without less roof

Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Volante at Pebble Beach: Some Astons are better than other Astons

1956 Aston Martin DBR1 at RM Sotheby’s: The most-expensive British car sold at auction

1995 McLaren F1 at Bonhams Quail Auction: The first F1 sold in the U.S. was also on the block

Gunther Werks 400R Reveal: The ultimate air-cooled 993

Ken Okuyama Cars Kode 0: Bringing to the 1970s to the Lamborghini Aventador

Acura ARX-05 Daytona Prototype Reveal: Acura and Penske reveal endurance car prototype

McLaren 720S by McLaren Special Operations: It sure is purple

2018 Ford GT ’67 Heritage Edition in Monterey: Because the GT can in fact get even cooler

McCall’s Motorworks Revival 2017: A great way to kick off the weekend

August 23, 2017 / Comments Off

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First U.S. Bugatti Chiron delivered to customer at Pebble Beach

This would be the first Bugatti Chiron delivered to a U.S. customer and it seems appropriate that the delivery took place this weekend at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Such “first” cars tend to be just the sort that end up on the illustrious fairway every August.

As you can obviously see, this particular owner went for a yellow and black color scheme, which can be seen on classic Bugattis as well. The yellow extends to the wheels, the grille surround and the trademark C-shaped trim along each side. The colors carry into the cabin with yellow leather on the inside of the seats, the center console armrest, doors and the interior’s C-shaped dividing line. Everything else is black leather.

Bugatti says that the Chiron will be limited to 500 units, with more than half already sold and 30 percent of those destined for the United States. The asking price is essentially $3 million. We’ll have to wait and see what it’ll be worth in 60 years or so when U.S. Chiron no. 1 makes its almost-inevitable return to Pebble Beach.

August 20, 2017 / Comments Off

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McLaren F1 sells for $15.62 million at Bonhams auction

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. – The first McLaren F1 imported to the United States sold for an eye-popping $15.62 million Friday at the Bonhams auction here. Offered by its original owner, the legendary supercar is in impeccable condition and has all of its service records, including one from just last month.

The F1 gaveled for $14.2 million and the price included a 10-percent buyer’s fee. The sale was held at the Quail Lodge as part of vintage car week in the run-up to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The car, designated a 1995 model, has a 627-bhp DOHC V12 teamed with a six-speed manual transmission, four-wheel independent suspension and four-wheel drilled and vented disc brakes, according to the Bonhams listing.

This car is the 37th F1 produced and still wears its original silver exterior and black/grey leather interior. The unnamed owner bought it new from the factory in Woking, England, in 1996. This F1 has 9,600 miles on its odometer – half of them from a European roadtrip its owner took after buying the car.

This F1 was converted to be road legal in the US shortly after purchase, but has been returned to its original form for the auction. All of the conversion pieces, however, were saved. Only seven of the 64 F1s produced were federalized for US roads.

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August 18, 2017 / Comments Off

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2018 Ford GT ’67 Heritage Edition honors Le Mans legacy at Pebble Beach

In 1967, the all-American team of Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt claimed victory at Le Mans in a Ford GT40 Mark IV. Both drivers went on to become racing legends, and the GT40 has been continually celebrated, inspiring the Ford GT that the company sells today. As a tribute to that famous victory 50 years ago, Ford will honor the 1967 Le Mans car with the 2018 Ford GT ’67 Heritage Edition, which will be on display at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The limited-edition GT boasts glossy Race Red paint with white stripes, as well as the same No. 1 that the winning car wore at Le Mans half a century ago. It also features an exposed carbon package, silver 20-inch forged aluminum wheels, red brake calipers, and silver mirror caps. Inside, the car’s carbon fiber seats are trimmed with leather with red accent stitching. Steering wheel stitching and seat belt webbing are also red, and the paddle shifters are anodized gray. The door sills, air vents, and center console all sport matte carbon fiber. A serialized identification highlights the car’s rarity.

The ’67 Heritage Edition follows the ’66 edition of the GT that Ford debuted last year. That black and silver car honors the GT40 Mark II driven to Le Mans victory by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. We wouldn’t be surprised if Ford continues to make special editions in 2018 and 2019 as well, to honor the GT40’s 1968 and 1969 Le Mans victories.

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August 15, 2017 / Comments Off

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