2013 SSC Ultimate Aero XT

Exterior

The exterior of the SSC Ultimate Aero XT will boast a two-tone paint scheme never before seen on any Ultimate Aero and the will never be seen on any new Tuatara. The customer can select any two colors he wants and SSC will place one color up the center of the car, over the roof, down the tail, on the mirrors, and on the lower half of the vehicle. The second color will fill in the sides of the car and the outermost sides of the hood.

The overall styling of the car is the same as the standard Ultimate Aero, sans the wheels coded to the customer’s selection. It boasts a wedge-style front end that leads to a low-slung roof that swoops rearward to the tail,. The tail swoops upward slightly to give the Aero XT a little rear downforce and this small wing races to its full height when braking to give the brakes a little help.

Around the back end of the Ultimate Aero XT, you have the six taillight system seen on the standard Ultimate Aero, along with its center-exit exhaust system.

The Ultimate Aero’s exterior was plenty sexy, so we are glad to see SSC do only minimal changes to set this special edition apart from the rest.

Interior

There is not too much information given on the interior styling, but we can assume that it is pretty much the same styling as the base model Ultimate Aero, but from the pictures it looks like the colors are coded to match the exterior, though this is not confirmed by SSC.

As for amenities, you get A/C, power windows, power mirrors, tilt steering, 7.5-inch LCD screen, a 10-speaker premium stereo system with a CD and DVD player. You also get a full-time rear-view camera and a navigation system.

Engine and Drivetrain

Behind the seats is where the big difference is seen in this version of the Ultimate Aero. It features the all-new 423.6 cubic-inch engine that the Tuatara uses, boasting 1,300 horsepower at 6,800 rpm and 1,004 pound-feet of torque at 6,800 rpm. Also borrowed from its big brother was its cooling system and fuel-delivery system. That’s a 13-horsepower increase over the base Ultimate Aero, but a 108 pound-feet loss, which is odd. It does, however, rev up to a tout 9,200 rpm before hitting the engine’s redline

Getting these kinds of ponies from this engine requires a pair of turbochargers pumping in tons of pressure. Keeping the forced air cool are a pair of water-to-air intercoolers, which do not become heat-soaked and therefore useless like air-to-air intercoolers.

Mated to the engine is a 7-speed triple -disc carbon clutch, which is bound to have lightning-fast shifts and precise response, and tosses power to only the rear wheels. This transmission does not have a traditional floor shifter. Rather, it has a paddle-shift interface behind the steering wheel.

Suspension, Braking and Chassis

The body measures in at 174.4 inches long x 78.4 inches wide x 43 inches high and weighs all of 2,800 lbs, thanks to its carbon-fiber construction with aluminum crash structures – much like F1 cars. You get 44 percent of its body weight on the front axle and 56 percent on the rear. We’d like to see it a little closer to the 50/50 mark, but at least the majority of the weight is over the rear axle.

The wheels are forged 1-piece alloy with the fronts measuring in at 19 x 9.5 inches and the rears measuring 20 x 13 inches. This forged alloy helps keep the unsprung weight low, which leads to better suspension control and better handling. Wrapped around these rims are a set of Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires. The fronts measure P235/35R19 and the rears measure P335/30R20.

On each corner of the Ultimate Aero XT are carbon/ceramic brakes borrowed from the Tuatara that bring this beast to a fast stop almost on demand. In fact, it’ll bring the Ultimate Aero XT from 60 mph to 0 mph in just 103 feet.

The front and rear suspension is an independent variety with unequal upper and lower control arms, coil-over springs, remote adjustable coil-over shocks with cab-controlled air lift and an anti-roll bar.

All of these advances to the suspension and chassis technology amounts out to a 1.05 G rating on the skid pad. That’s pretty impressive for a car of this size and power.

Performance

No to what this car can really do... It sprints to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 2.65 seconds and hits 322 km/h (200 mph) in just 15.65 seconds, which is a new wold record. It also screams to 100 mph in 11.25 seconds. This monster has a projected top speed of 273 mph, though it has only been tested up to just over 250 mph.. ha, “only 250.” With the extra ponies, it may be even a little higher.

When and How Can I Get One?

SSC is currently accepting orders for this last run of Aeros and they are all built to suit. This means that once you order your Ultimate Aero XT, it’ll take about four months to build it and get it delivered. Not too bad when you consider the industry average on these builds is 12 to 18 months.

Pricing

SSC is doing something new with the pricing on the Ultimate Aero XT. Instead of doing a standard set price, SSC has come up with a graduated pricing system that entices customers to get there early and get their orders in... It could save you up to $100,000.

This graduated pricing is as follows: Chassis No. 1 will run $750,000, chassis No. 2 will run $775,000, chassis No. 3 will cost $800,000, chassis No. 4 will cost $825,000 and finally, chassis No. 5 will cost $850,000.

Conclusion

What can we say, except that we love this vehicle. It is a rare instance that you have the chance to get your hands on something that will be as collectable as this car. Not only are there only five models being produced, but their painted to your liking and SSC guarantees that not another one of its cars will boast the same paint job... Simply said, it is awesome!