Fastest Car In the World

The world's fastest car, one might think Bugatti or the famous McClarin F1 or the wild Konneggsegg CCX, but as of 2008 there is a new record holder who is surprisingly American. The SSC Ultimate Aero TT is the fastest production car in the world, and it is made right here in the states. This supercar is can reach the amazing speed of 257 miles an hour because of two distinct features, weight and power. The car weighs just under 2,900 pounds which is 110 pounds lighter than a corvette and a Carrera GT and has twice the horsepower. This is because of the formula F/M=A where F is force, M is mass, and a is acceleration. Thus if you keep the power high and the weight low the acceleration of the car will be extremely high, and that is what SSC did. The power plant is a 6.3L twin turbo charged aluminum block engine with 8 cylinders. Jerod Shelby chose to make the engine out of aluminum and "only" have 8 cylinders to keep the weight down. In contrast, the Bugatti Veyron has a 16W engine which is basically two V8's strapped together yet only has 1001 hp. Where the V8 squeezes out 1183 hp and 1194 pound feet of torque. This achievement is credited to the two turbo chargers which produce 14 lbs of boost pressure. A turbo charger is basically two connected fans. One fan is spun by the exhaust which in turn spins the second fan that pulls air and precious oxygen into the engine. This oxygen is necessary for the extra boost because of the combustion in the cylinders. SSC chose to make the car entirely out of space age materials such as carbon fiber and EBX-1208. These two materials make up the chassis and the body panels of the car. It is because of these two materials that the car can stay under 3,000 pounds. Thus the car has an extremely high power to weight ratio that is more than double the Corvette's and Carrera GT's giving it extreme acceleration. The Aero can go from 0-60 in 2.78 seconds and can do a 1/4 mile in under 9.9 seconds. However, there are many American made cars that have souped up engines with massive amounts of horse power that are just as fast but when it is put around a track it cannot go around a corner. This is just the typical American car syndrome, fast in a straight line but terrible in the bends. So you might ask is the Aero any good on a track. The answer is yes. The Aero has an incredibly sturdy chassis that sometimes driving up a steep driveway, a wheel might come off the ground 3 inches. Also there are no driver aids. There are no abs and no traction control. This means it is a true drivers car and "you can not only throttle with your right foot, but steer with your right foot." The owner of the company, Jerod Shelby, is saying that because there is no traction control the Aero can go into a corner flick the tail out and get out of the slide with power from your right foot. There is no technology holding you back from doing an amazing drift around a corner with the gas peddle. The lack of technology is crucial in making the driving experience amazing. When Jay Leno took it out for a drive he said, "the more I drove this car, the more comfortable it gets, the more you settle into it. It really is a drivers car. There's no aids at all. When I drove the Bugatti Veyron, although it was incredibly fast, it felt big and cumbersome. This car seems to shrink around you." Instead of being detached from the actual driving experience by a lot of technology in the Veyron, the Aero gives the driver all the control. This allows the driver to feel everything working through the steering, the clutch, gearbox, the sound of the turbos, and spin of the wheels. Allowing the driver to feel in control gives them a feeling that the car is an extension of their body and shrinks around them for optimal maneuverability. As a result, this car is an amazing piece of engineering, and it should be at $621,000. However, that is around half of the price of the Veyron. In my opinion, this car is ten times better than a Veyron because of the simplicity. It has a powerful engine and a light weight body; that's it. It gives you that x factor that you look for when buying a supercar. Something that doesn't show up in the statistics of the car, or the description. It is something indescribable, something that gives you a smile and that amazing adrenaline rush every time you see, touch, or drive the car. The Aero has the x factor for me.

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