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Ever since SSC announced that it would be setting a new top speed record with its Tuatara, there has been a bad smell about the validity of the company’s claims. YouTuber Shmee150 made a video after Tuatara’s 316 miles per hour (508 kilometers per hour) run that points out inconsistencies between the telemetry data and what is displayed on the screen. The video has unleashed a storm of criticism and analysis, although today, SSC has an explanation: an editing error.
The company says it released two videos with inaccurate information, adding that the high-speed execution videos present the data logger information overlaid at the wrong point. This created the inconsistency between the car’s location and the telemetry data. This is easily noticed early in the car’s career. Telemetry data shows the car moving before it actually does, while the oddly fuzzy speedometer throughout the entire race marks zero.
SSC is working with the video production company Driven Studios, which has “extensive footage of everything that happened,” to rectify the problem. The two are working to release the correct footage “in its simplest form,” which the company will share as soon as it becomes available. The SSC also looks at the Tuatara’s gearing, another issue Shmee raised, though it appears Shmee used a different final gear ratio – 3.167 compared to the car’s actual 2.92 ratio.
Another sticking point is the speed of the car relative to the surrounding area of Nevada. Shmee measured the distances between breaks at the median to calculate the car’s speed, and found more inconsistencies in the video and data using a simple formula to calculate the speed. For now, the videos raise questions about running at full speed, which we now know to be inaccurate. We’ll wait to see what the SSC reveals to clear up the issue because a 316mph hypercar with 1,750 horsepower sounds otherworldly. You can read SSC’s full answer here, which has yet to verify the record with Guinness World Records.
