The automotive world is no stranger to controversy, especially when it comes to the speed records for the title of ‘fastest car in the world’. Almost all of last week saw the petrolhead community split over the new speed record set by the SSC Tuatara. The performance carmaker’s claim at the time was an average top speed of 316mph and a peak speed of 331mph. When the official video of the record run was released, some keen-eyed enthusiasts saw that something was amiss. They carefully spliced into the footage that claimed to showcase the record-setting run and noticed a lot of anomalies. The best breakdown of SSC’s video that I saw was done by Shmee and Robert Mitchell and you can watch their videos from the links below:
- Did the SSC Tuatara REALLY Set a 331mph World Record?
- SSC Tuatara World Record Analysis: FACTS
- Dumb Youtubers Discussing the SSC Tuatara Controversy!!!
Their analysis concluded that the information in the video was false. Neither men have any agenda against SSC but simply would have liked more reliable data to back up the speed record claim. This was enough to split those interested into various camps, most toxic of which were those who opted to attack the reputations of either the YouTubers of SSC or both. SSC took a while to respond to the scrutiny and their first response backfired. They published a statement regarding the brand of GPS used to verify their data accuracy but the said brand then released a statement that no one from their team was at hand to calibrate and verify the test figures. Then SSC released a statement confirming the gear ratios that the record car was running and backtracked on the GPS claims. However, it would just be an uphill battle of fighting one claim/doubt at a time. But then, this video came out:
Founder and owner of SSC North America, Jerod Shelby put out an official statement this morning that they’ll be redoing their record-setting speed run with the Tuatara. He also addressed the controversy and acknowledged people for their detailed analysis. Not only did it help the company identify the errors made by the video production company that put together the false clip but also realise the need for more stringent validation processes.
It’s a brave and honourable decision from SSC and Jerod who also extended a specific invite to Shmee, Robert and Misha to come and attend the next speed record attempt.
The Auto Loons 