Manoli Katakis 
Not limited to the typical constraints that are characteristic of an assembly like, the SSC Tuatara is assembled by hand in a facility in Richland, Washington. Because of this, there’s a myriad ways to configure this All-American hypercar. Yet, nobody outside of the company has really seen the kind of options that are offered on the SSC Tuatara, except customers. But today, we’re going to share with you a bit on how configurable the Tuatara actually is.
“We actually have a 14-page option list that goes out to our prospective customers,” said SSC founder and CEO Jerod Shelby in an interview with MC&T. Customers can also choose between two different body styles: the top speed version, which is pictured, and a high-downforce model, which hasn’t been revealed to the public just yet.
“It’s custom livery paint schemes, it’s all exposed carbon bodies, versus stripes, different wings and diffusers in exposed carbon,” he noted.
Jerod Shelby also disclosed that the interior is just as customizable as the exterior, meaning that it’s unlikely that any of the 100 SSC Tuatara hypercars destined to be built will be exact matches. Each vehicle should be a one-of-one, per the tastes of the customer dropping a minimum of $1,625,000 for the ability to own one. That jumps to $1,901,000 if the high-downforce variant is requested.
“On the interior, a customer has the ability to have any color combination on the interior, fully exposed carbon, different materials and stitching,” said Shelby.
As far as the mechanicals, however, the SSC Tuatara won’t see any options beyond engine output. The hypercar will be exclusively powered by a 5.9L twin-turbo V8 with a flat-plane crank V8 engine, supplied by Nelson Racing Engines, that spins to 8,800 RPM. Power will be sent to the rear wheels by way of a seven-speed automatic transmission that shifts in under 100 milliseconds.
“As far as the performance side, it’s set,” said Jerod Shelby. “If a customer decides they want the full horsepower all the time, they’re going to have to run E85 all the time. If a customer wants 1,350 horsepower, they’re running pump fuel.”
The first SSC Tuatara customer is Dr. Larry Caplin, who is a longtime customer of SSC, having acquired two Ultimate Aero hypercars, including the last one SSC built. His Tuatara is being used to breach the 300 mph barrier, and beyond.
