September 24, 2008 Last week saw the one year anniversary of SSC’s Ulimate Aero becoming the fastest production car in the world at 256.18 mph, pushing past marks set by Koenigsegg’s CCR and Bugatti’s Veyron. It’s the first time the top speed record has stood for a whole year since McLaren’s F1 held it for seven years with 386.4 kmh (240.1mph). Now comes news that an Ultimate Aero EV (Electric Vehicle) is in development. A 500 bhp EV is planned for late 2009 and a 1000 bhp 4WD EV is also under consideration. Now here’s the kicker – the press statement reads: “The drive train under development will feature a revolutionary power source allowing for extended time between charging intervals with the possibility of several years between charging.”
The anniversary date was September 13 to be exact, but it’s the prospect of the first 100% Green Supercar that is interesting. Engineering details are yet undisclosed but SSC expects to roll out its first prototype in February 2009. As for the revolutionary drive train, well, we have no idea what is planned and … we’ll suspend disbelief in respect of the company’s proven ability to do exactly what it has said it will do in the past. A track record as good as SSC’s gives this otherwise ridiculous claim some credibility, though it’ll need to be pretty special to run a few years between charges – maybe it’s a micro-nuclear powerplant,
"I think we can do it faster, leaner and cleaner than any other manufacturer" says Jerod Shelby, SSC Founder.
Consistent with its company philosophy of being the benchmark, SSC plans next to break the record for the fastest electric car in the world.