Peternell Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 This happened basically in my backyard, about 20 miles from my house. Nice to know there is a local stretch of road capable of supporting 250mph speeds, just in case I feel the urge. Think what you will of the design, but 255mph on a local county road is pretty impressive. http://www.shelbysupercars.com/press.php#speed http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/9301484p-9215967c.html Tri-City Herald West Richland supercar sets land speed record Published Friday, September 14th, 2007 JOHN TRUMBO HERALD STAFF WRITER Zoooooooom! What was that? A Ferrari, a Bugatti, a Lamborghini? No, at a blurring speed of more than 255 mph, it was West Richland resident Jerod Shelby's Ultimate Aero, a two-seater supercar designed and built to go faster than any other street-legal automobile. And it was running Thursday on a four-mile section of Highway 221 just south of Sellards Road between Prosser and Paterson. In doing so, Shelby's Ultimate Aero hit speeds that he expects to be certified as a Guinness World Records land speed record for production cars -- breaking the 2-year-old record of 253 mph set by a Bugatti Veyron. Police and road crews -- paid for by Shelby -- stood by for a road closure so the test could be done. The test, which had to be specially arranged with the state Department of Transportation for the road closure, confirmed what Shelby believed -- that the Ultimate Aero has the horsepower and genius of design to be the world's fastest production car. "Today was an amazing day," said Shelby after the 387-cubic-inch, 1,183-horsepower, twin turbo-enhanced vehicle did its stuff. Driver Chuck Bigelow piloted the Ultimate Aero twice on the two-lane straightaway, reaching 257.11 mph heading south, then 254.55 mph on the same stretch going north. The official average top speed for the two runs was 255.83 mph Guinness requires that a speed test be done in two directions within one hour to correct for any head- or tail-wind variables, or hills on the course. Shelby also had to have two independent observers approved by Guinness to take notes about the speed test. His observers were two former Tri-Citians of the year, Calvin Dudney and Dean Strawn. "We have to write a statement of what we saw and include information we gathered about the car, its serial numbers and the GPS (used to measure the speed) and send it in," Dudney said. "The neatest part about this is there are local people in the Tri-Cities who have skills and talent and can build stuff that is the best in the world. It's fun. I'm so excited for Jerod. He's doing something that would put this place on the map," Dudney said. Shelby and his family members, including a brother and his parents, have been working for six years to achieve the goal reached Thursday. Breaking the Bugatti Veyron's record should catapult the Ultimate Aero into the public eye as the fastest street-legal car money can buy. Shelby also likes to note that his made-in-America Ultimate Aero is priced at only $549,000, while the foreign-made Bugatti Veyron goes for $1.5 million. Thursday's dash was a calculated success. "We've been testing for six months with test sessions in Nevada and Washington," Shelby said. A test in Nevada to check the six-speed transmission and driveline for safety and security turned 241 mph and showed every promise that the Ultimate Aero would deliver what its 250 mph speedometer promised. "It was very important to me to prove out the safety and stability for these type of speeds. We were very confident this go-around," Shelby said. "I've done some stock car racing and got to do the Winston Cup in 1988 and 1989, but this is a whole new level," Dudney said. Measuring the top speed of a supercar like the Ultimate Aero requires high-tech systems, and Shelby had some of the best available. A Dewetron system that uses nine satellites in a GPS configuration pinpointed the car's progress to within a one-thousandth of a second, Shelby said. "This is a culmination of the past five years. It is a very monumental milestone in the company," Shelby said. He expects that the Shelby SuperCars marketing team will be trumpeting the accomplishment as a national story on CNN and Fox News, among others. The Ultimate Aero already has turned heads in Forbes magazine and in automotive trade publications such as MotorTrend. "To get a customer to spend half a million dollars on a car, you have to be known. You have to have a household name," Shelby said. He's betting the Guinness World Records label will get him that coveted name. Shelby's Ultimate Aero and its first-generation sibling, the Aero, are available only in Las Vegas at the only authorized U.S. dealer. But Shelby plans to have a second dealership soon, in Dubai, near Saudi Arabia. He's taking his muscular supercars to an international auto show in Dubai in the second week of November. So far, Shelby said he has delivered seven of his Aero line to customers, and has orders for 25 more. The Ultimate Aero and Aero are assembled at the Shelby SuperCars shop in West Richland, but the family-owned business also has manufacturing sites in Auburn and Phoenix. For more information about Shelby and the cars, go to http://www.shelbysupercars.com. The site includes a video of one of the car's speed runs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrxand280z Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 Did you see the weight to horsepower. 2.33lbs per hp!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 that car is stunningly like the Koenigsegg .. weird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 that's OK, the Bugatti will hold the ugly record forever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete84 Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 that's OK, the Bugatti will hold the ugly record forever QFT It reminds me as well of the Koenigsegg, and also the Mclaren F1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunar240z Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 way uglier than a veyron imo.... it screams kit car to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTORHEAD427 Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 All 220+mph supercars have to look alike. It`s the aerodynamics. There is no other -safer- way Pagani Zonda, Koenigsegg, Bugatti, Murcielago etc... Bottom line is, It`s an American car that kinda looks like a Diablo and it kicked some European ass! Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 oh the Zonda looks incredibly different from all the other cars.. Buggati and Lambo's all have distinct looks.. The Koenigsegg to me was different from all the others.. but this new SSC Aero is wayyy too similar. Koenigsegg SSC Aero Pagani Zonda Lambo Veyron Enzo SLR I dunno they all have unique looks to them.. all different from one another.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTORHEAD427 Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 No matter how ugly it looks, there is only one fact! Americans beat everybody else with limited resources nonetheless and proved they are better than Germans...That`s an achievement... Take that Jeremy Clarkson! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete84 Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 Any idea what engine block etc they are using? 387 cid is a bit odd, comes to 6.3L. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentNight1647 Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 350 .060 over with a 400 crank equals 388 that would be cool if it was an SBC but I sincerely doubt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackhammer Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 No matter how ugly it looks, there is only one fact! Americans beat everybody else with limited resources nonetheless and proved they are better than Germans...That`s an achievement... Take that Jeremy Clarkson! For what it's worth..... I second that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustrocket Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 at $550K, it's a bargain! I'll take two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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