The 1,750 HP SSC Tuatara might be going to the Nurburgring to push itself beyond ‘simple’ top speed records.
The $1.9 million-hypercar was the subject of a small scandal when it came to light that SSC had likely misrecorded its velocity and released a misleading video of an alleged record-setting speed run. The company has since gotten back on the high-speed horse, but it’s not limiting its efforts to top speed alone.
In an interview with Muscle Cars and Trucks, the company’s founder, Jerod Shelby, said he was thinking about a lap of the Nurburgring.
“We actually are looking at [running the SSC Tuatara at the Nürburgring],” Shelby told the outlet. “We’re talking to a group about Nürburgring, and that will be one of our next focuses after top speed.”
But a lap of the 12-mile track is no mean feat. The track has taken down its fair share of record-hunters, like the Koenigsegg One:1 that crashed in 2016 or the C7 ZR1 whose allegedly disappointing lap time never ended up being officially published.
“We do understand that is an extreme challenge,” he said. “I think anybody that says ‘we’re gonna go down there and set a great lap time,’ I think they’re crazy.”
Read More: SSC Admits Tuatara’s 331 MPH Video Is Inaccurate, Top Speed Record Still Not Confirmed
Unfortunately for SSC, lap times of the track are no strangers to controversy. When Lamborghini set a sub-seven-minute lap time at the track with a Huracan Performante in 2017, more than a few observers questioned its claim.
SSC has been reclaiming its credibility, though. Since its supposed 331 mph top speed was thrown into question, the company managed to set the production car speed record of 282 mph with independent adjudicators on-site to verify the record.
If the car can set a record at the fearsome track, it would certainly be a feather in its cap. As it stands, the production car lap record is 6:43.616 set by Maro Engel in a Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series.
If SSC does indeed decide to go for a timed lap, getting the car ready will take some time.
“I think it’s such an extreme and technical track,” said Shelby. “You gotta have the right driver, you gotta have a great vehicle, and you do a lot of tuning and testing there, because it’s not a smooth track.”
Regardless, Shelby promises more videos of extreme feats in the coming months as the company continues to push the limits of the Tuatara.