World’s Fastest Production Car Planned, Named by Shelby

Shelby Supercars (SSC) reveals an exotic name for the new vehicle it plans as the world's fastest production car.

Powered by a 1,350-hp 7L DOHC twin turbo V-8 engine, the machine is dubbed the Tuatara, a name taken from a New Zealand reptile that traces its ancestry to before the dinosaur age.

Tuatara lays claim to world’s fastest production car.

Tuatara translates from the Maori language as “peaks on the back,” which SSC says is appropriate, given the winglets on the back of the new car.

“The design specifications for the next-generation SSC were so extreme. We knew early on that a proper name would be a key piece of the puzzle for this project,” SSC founder and CEO Jerod Shelby says in a statement.

“We knew the name had to have a power and exotic ring to it.”

The tuatara has a particular biological property linking with SSC: The creature has the fastest-evolving DNA in the world, and Shelby calls that a perfect fit for SSC’s newest offering.

“Most manufacturers essentially use the same basic model and body shape for up to 10 years, while making only small refinements to it each year,” he says.

“After only three years in production with the Ultimate Aero, SSC’s Tuatara is about to monumentally evolve in the areas of sophistication, design, aerodynamics and sheer all-around performance. We felt that the fastest-evolving DNA was a perfect definition of SSC’s latest project.”

The car’s body, chassis and wheels will be composed entirely of carbon fiber. The crash cells will be built from aluminum.

The transmission is either a 7-speed manual H-pattern or 7-speed SMG paddle-shift with a triple-disc carbon clutch.

To pass the Bugatti Veyron as world's fastest production machine, the Tuatara will have to top 267 mph (430 km/h).

SSC reportedly plans to build a dozen Tuataras expected to cost between $800,000 and $900,000 each.