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Shelby Ultimate Aero Fastest Car on the Streets |
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Wednesday, 30 January 2008 |
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The Guinness Book of World Records recently announced that there is a
new car on the road that is the fastest street legal vehicle in the
world. The Shelby SuperCar’s Ultimate Aero was awarded this rare
distinction following rigorous testing. The original event took place
back in September of 2007. The cars were driven on a closed highway and
were required to drive down once, turn around and drive back.
The Ultimate Aero clocked in at an average speed of 256 mph. This beat the former record holder, a Koenigsegg CCR which clocked in at 242 mph as well as the unofficial time for a Volkswagen Bugatti at 253 mph. According to NASA, the Ultimate Aero could have gone even faster, if it just had a little more road.
The agency tested the vehicle at its wind tunnel at Langley, VA and discovered that the car can actually go 273 mph. According to them, the Guinness Test just ran out of road. “If there was additional straight pavement on which to accelerate, the top speed would have been considerably higher, so if anyone challenges our record there is tons left on the table," says Chuck Bigelow, the man who drove the Ultimate Aero to victory.
Jarod Shelby, not to be confused with the Carroll Shelby family, started Shelby SuperCars in 2000. The company is headquartered in Washington State and has been working to beat the speed record since 2000. Although the company wanted to break the record on a matter of principle, it will also help publicize their vehicles. As Shelby pointed out, “No one is going to buy a $600k car they’ve never heard of.”
Junus Khan, the director of marketing at Shelby SuperCars, stated: "Being a brand-new player, it was important to do something extraordinary in order to gain credibility and to be taken seriously. Our main goal wasn't just to break the speed record, it was to become a well-known, respected manufacturer of world-class exotics."
Shelby was previously employed by Advance Image Technology, a company that specializes in medical devices. His time spent there focused on inventions, with one of his patents being a device that detects breast cancer using sound waves instead of traditional methods which include radiation.
After 13 years, he decided to go out on his own. He stated, "I always thought it would be great if I could design my own car. So about nine years ago, while eating at an Italian restaurant, I did my first napkin drawing. Amazingly, the final product looks very similar to our early sketches."
Only 50 models of the Shelby SuperCars Ultimate Aero will be made. The dealership for the company is located in Nevada and it is the only place you’ll be able to find this vehicle so far. This may change as the company gets more publicity. Shelby concluded, "A lot of people think that powerful, American supercars are only good at going straight, but our car will out-handle just about anything that you put next to it. When Road & Track tested a pre-production version of our car, it broke the Ferrari Enzo's slalom course record. It will just take time to get the word out on how capable we are."
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