I got the impression this APEX track-rental car thing is his side-hobby and he makes his real money from real-estate development. If there is one person in this saga that has zero financial interest into any direction or whether he makes any videos or gets some pennies or not about it, it is Robert. His youtube channel is all about explaning interesting inside knowledge about race- and track driving that he is passionate about. In this way it is pretty ridiculous that he is the one that gets personally attacked for basically no reason at all rather than standing on the side of reason.
I know the Robert personally. He is one of the true car enthusiast and does not need a profit from YouTube etc. He is very humble person.
So where is Bugatti in this fight? Have they run their 500 km/h yet? Image Unavailable, Please Login Or is this just more vapor-ware? edit: probably on the back burner now, given the flux @ VW/Porsche/Rimac.....
Jump to 16:00 mark to hear overheating issues explained very clearly I think this is most likely exactly what happened on the first attempt. Overheated. Can this car do over 300mph? On paper, yes. Real world with heat issues retarding timing/boost and horsepower? NO As Robert said, it may get to 280+, but 300 is looking iffy. Perhaps a much colder location would help. Still an awesome car. .
Could not sit through half an hour of a guy sitting in a chair. Was there any actual video of the car doing a full run attempt?
Record run, but a little disappointing. Two-way average speed of 282.9 mph. yay, but long way from 300+ that was alleged previously. (sorry, but expectations were higher) If the top speed doesn't start with a '3', who cares? That being said, the car was still accelerating. They ran out of room, so who knows what it is capable of. still . They know they need a longer road, so why did they bother on this shorter runway? Leaving 1 mile to slow down is 'safe' but probably unnecessary. Another half mile would get them into the 290's. (but still not the goal) .
I understand the disappointment based on the prior claims and questions, and I was in your camp. That is why I put myself in the seat. Having driven the runs, I believe that we have sufficient room at the Space Shuttle Landing Facility to break 300mph. We were testing to get the car set up for this type of run and broke the record. It wasn't meant to be a big "announcement." Regarding the facility, it is so much harder on the car and car control in this type of location. Slowly building to 200mph over several miles does not increase intake, exhaust gas, oil, and water temps like running all out from the launch. The difference is that in the slow climb you are not dealing with any heat at 200mph when you put full power in, vs already having increased heat at 200mph in the "drag race" style of launch and still pulling for more. As you know, dissipation of heat is critical to power. That is why the testing and tune are being managed in increments. Here is some in-car video.
Updated information https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hotcars.com/ssc-tuatara-owner-driver-dr-larry-caplin-300-mph/amp/
Hi Larry, fascinating to hear the story direct from the horses mouth so to speak. May I ask considering the higher strain on the car heat wise etc as you describe at the NASA facility. Are there any plans to do a run on a longer stretch of road such as the Nevada site. As wouldnt this allow for an all out full speed run. With no track limitations, less stress on the car and would also put a stop to those who are questioning why SSC won't try that again ? Thanks and regards Alan.
Alan, IMO that Nevada road is too dangerous. It has a crown and is prone to cross winds that can move the car. It is smarter to push the car instead of taking unnecessary risk.
ouch! more than a scratch, but, repairable. Top Speed Record-Holding SSC Tuatara Wrecked in Car Carrier Crash https://www.thedrive.com/news/40486/top-speed-record-holding-ssc-tuatara-wrecked-in-car-carrier-crash Image Unavailable, Please Login .
If they spent a little more time making cars to be sold and less time promoting a car that doesn't exist things like this wouldn't happen. Just sayin'.
2 new variants with more downforce: Striker (street legal) and Aggressor (track only) https://www.sscnorthamerica.com/striker Image Unavailable, Please Login . Image Unavailable, Please Login .
SSC Reveals Wild Tuatara Striker, Aggressor With Up To 2,200 HP better explanation of the 2 variants https://www.motor1.com/news/510070/ssc-tuatara-striker-aggressor-announced/ .
I can understand the 2,200 hp rating in the article but the kilo-watt stuff is meaningless. Maybe try million electron-volts next or some ratio of gravitational force. Just as relevant to enthusiasts.