Electri-fyin' -- SSC reveals all electric supercar
You probably haven't heard of the SSC Ultimate Aero, but the Guinness Book says it's the world's fastest production car. Now comes the plug-in electric version, showcasing the company's advanced electric powertrainWho better than Carroll Shelby to come up with the finest example yet of how the electric motor's natural instant torque characteristics can be put to hyper-sporting use? Why Jerod Shelby, of course. He's no relation to Carroll, the Texan past master in the art of feralising relatively civilised Mustangs and Dodge Chargers (and the not so civilised AC Cobra). In fact Jerod's company, Shelby SuperCars (SSC), hails from West Richland, Washington -- about as far away as you can get from Texas without leaving the US.
But he is something of a 21st Century spiritual successor, if the all-electric SSC Ultimate Aero EV is anything to go by. Consider this: the donor vehicle, SSC's twin-turbo V8 Ultimate Aero, grabbed the mantle of world's fastest production car from the Bugatti Veyron in 2007.
The EV's weight hasn't been announced, but it's likely to come in substantially below the donor model, which already weighs in at a laudable 1250 kg. And while it doesn't match the V8's 410 km/h top speed, it will make 335 km/h. More relevant is its marginally quicker acceleration. With twin electric motors making their 746 kilowatts and 1085 Newton metres available instantly via a three-speed auto transmission, it dispatches the first 100 km/h in around 2.5 seconds.
It runs for 240-320 kilometres on a single charge, with SSC's All Electric Scalable Powertrain's (AESP) liquid cooling allowing it to make extended peak-power runs without overheating.
And all with a plug-in charging system that allows a full recharge off a 220V power point in an amazing 10 minutes.
The Ultimate Aero EV serves as a high-end showcase for it, but Shelby's green division has developed the AESP for broad-spectrum use, from 150kW in small to medium cars through 375kW in SUVs and light trucks, up to 900kW for large trucks, buses, military and other heavy-duty vehicles.
SSC expects Ultimate Aero EV deliveries to begin as early as in Q4 this year. Prices haven't been announced, but with the V8 model up around the US$500,000 mark and exchange rates being what they are, you're looking somewhere in the vicinity of a four-bedroom house in an upmarket suburb.
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