Shelby SuperCars Ultimate Aero

This is officially the fastest production car in the world, the Shelby SuperCars (SSC) Ultimate Aero.

This is the first time the production speed record title has been held by a United States auto manufacturer since the Ford GT40 claimed the record in 1967. Guinness’ strict testing procedure required the car to drive down the course, turn around, and make a second pass in the opposite direction within one hour. The vehicle’s official “top speed” was then calculated by averaging the top speeds of each pass in order to negate any favorable road or weather conditions. Driver Chuck Bigelow, 71, drove SSC’s Ultimate Aero on a stretch of highway 221, clocking 414.31 kph (257.44 mph) on the first pass and 410.24 kph (254.91 mph) on the second pass to yield an official record speed of 412.28 kph (256.18 mph). From data presented by Dewetron’s world-renowned data acquisition system, Guinness officials verified the official speed to be .52 kph (.32 mph) faster than SSC had originally noted. This breaks the current official record held by the Koenigsegg CCR at 388 kph by 24.28 kph (15.09 mph) and the Bugatti Veyron’s unofficial speed of 408.47 kph by 5.84 kph (3.63 mph).