Jay Leno Review Of SSC Ultimate Aero

[TC]

Clear case of patriotism vs. virtue.

He compares it to the Veyron, because that's the car it took the record from. Common sense mate.

And most cars of that caliber come from Europe. We only have the Saleen S7, which saw most of it's initial design in the UK, and the Mosler, which also saw most of it's initial design in the UK. This Ultimate Aero is making a point of being completely designed and engineered in the United States and all it's outsourced components also coming from within the United States. Which is smart, because most Americans are somewhat patriotic, and since most rich people have more money then brains, they probably would get alittle extra satisfaction out of owning the world's fastest supercar that is also a full American product.

Holding the record, as well as the fact that it's entirely American, are just selling points and bragging rights.

 

[Mark355]

Sure is ugly. Not interested.

 

[prizrak]

I wonder how nice it is as compared to the Veyron. Also wonder how good it would be in other areas. Top speed is nice and all but lets face it, it is hardly the biggest thing in a car. As J.C. pointed out with the Veyron one of the most incredible things is how it accelerates as opposed to the speed it can achieve. There is also the point of comfort, Leno says that car is civilized but lets face it he drove it for all of 15 minutes, J.C. did a pretty big journey in it. Considering it's width it would be horror to drive in NYC traffic (try getting around a van making a left in a busy intersection).

The review sucked, he was jumping all over the place and there was way too much talking about the car as opposed to driving it. He could have made all the points about its design while it was being driven, looking at the downpipes while it's standing in his garage was probably one of the most boring things that have to do with cars.

 

[TC]

I wonder how nice it is as compared to the Veyron. Also wonder how good it would be in other areas. Top speed is nice and all but lets face it, it is hardly the biggest thing in a car. As J.C. pointed out with the Veyron one of the most incredible things is how it accelerates as opposed to the speed it can achieve.

IIRC, the Aero posted it's record speed test on a 12 mile stretch of highway closed to the public for the test. The Veyron posted it's record run on Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track, which has a dedicated high speed circuit. The fact that the Aero could accelerate to 257mph from a stop in that distance, without AWD/Autotrans/LC/TC/ESP, is commendable.

It obviously wasn't designed to be a big luxury car, like the Veyron. Jay compared it to driving a LeMans car, which is exactly what a true supercar should feel like, imo. It's got a super stiff chassis and little suspension travel, so it's definitely not a car for decrepit old men with bad backs.

 

[Arctor]

I'm out of this discussion, youre thinking with your patriotic organs,
and not with the brain.

If this was a French car, you'd have no problems with seeing its shortcomings,
if it were German, you'd probably not even notice its existence.

The car is still a technical achievement because I'm not sure you realize how difficult it is to produce a car entirely in house and be able to achieve these numbers. The Koenigsegg CC8S's were supposed to see 250+mph and they fell far short of that target. The fact that SSC went with a proprietary block was even more impressive, since the CC8S's motor was primarily based on the Ford Mod Motor. Even the Veyron used pre-existing VW design for the W16. Mind you, the Veyron's estimated cost per car is about 10x as much as the SSC. And yes, the car is huge and ugly. Impressive nonetheless.

For the record, a lot of you seem to be discounting it for being American, and hypocrisy is not a becoming trait.

 

[bartboy9891]

IIRC, the Aero posted it's record speed test on a 12 mile stretch of highway closed to the public for the test. The Veyron posted it's record run on Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track, which has a dedicated high speed circuit. The fact that the Aero could accelerate to 257mph from a stop in that distance, without AWD/Autotrans/LC/TC/ESP, is commendable.

It obviously wasn't designed to be a big luxury car, like the Veyron. Jay compared it to driving a LeMans car, which is exactly what a true supercar should feel like, imo. It's got a super stiff chassis and little suspension travel, so it's definitely not a car for decrepit old men with bad backs.

People will argue that the Aero is better than the Veyron because it costs half the price and can do 250mph+ without all those electronic aids. But then others will argue that a twin turbo SRT-10 could probably do the same, and for a 1/3 of the price of the Aero.
All I'm saying is, for now, if you take top speed out of the equation what are you left with?

 

[Arctor]

All I'm saying is, for now, if you take top speed out of the equation what are you left with?

Noone knows really, but the few reviews that I've seen were positive. *shrug*

 

[BlaRo]

There's not enough

in the world to express my sentiments at SuperStalin and Aston Martin. Nobody here said anything about whether it was American, Canadian, Indonesian, or Martian. But can you blame an American for taking pride in something his fellow countrymen did? If TVR built the world's fastest car, then JC would be circle-jerking himself all over it in the same way that "America's Clarkson" did here.

Maybe because he lives in a country where patriotism hasn't been ruled out by limp-wristed politically-correct pandering sycophants.

 

[TC]

All I'm saying is, for now, if you take top speed out of the equation what are you left with?

A blistering fast supercar. That's an unfair question to ask though. It's like saying, if you have a RollsRoyce and take away all the luxury, what are you left with? The Aero is a performance car, foremost. It was never intended to be a luxury car like the Bugatti. It would make a lot more sense to compare this car to the legendary McLaren F1, then it would the Veyron.

 

[Shawn]

The Aero is a performance car, foremost. It was never intended to be a luxury car like the Bugatti. It would make a lot more sense to compare this car to the legendary McLaren F1, then it would the Veyron.

Mhm, you're right. I pointed out in another thread about the SSC that the Veyron really should not be compared to the Aero, since they Veyron offers a lot of luxury despite its speed capabilities.

But then, how does it compare to the McLaren? The F1 seats 3 people, has a lot of gizmos like computer and cool racing headphones, and in Tiff's review he says the car is quite easy to live with.

Also, the basis for the McLaren was that it was a no-costs-barred supercar, what with the engine bay being lined with gold and the tools made of titanium. Maybe the Aero is the opposite... an affordable 250mph car? :?

 

[prizrak]

Mhm, you're right. I pointed out in another thread about the SSC that the Veyron really should not be compared to the Aero, since they Veyron offers a lot of luxury despite its speed capabilities.

But then, how does it compare to the McLaren? The F1 seats 3 people, has a lot of gizmos like computer and cool racing headphones, and in Tiff's review he says the car is quite easy to live with.

Also, the basis for the McLaren was that it was a no-costs-barred supercar, what with the engine bay being lined with gold and the tools made of titanium. Maybe the Aero is the opposite... an affordable 250mph car? :?

At $600K? Your pocket book must be MUCH deeper than mine....

 

[Shawn]

^ It's all relative... I was comparing to the Veyron and McLaren F1.

What's the cheapest car that can do 250+ mph, stock?

 

[Ottobon]

Guy seemed like he had passion and all that, but i wish he would have tried to make it prettier. It just sorta looks like a Diablo shape with some interesting touch-ups all over.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I really don't understand people rejecting the Aero purely based on their perception of how it probably is like to drive compared to the Veyron which of course everybody on this forum has driven. To complain that the car couldn't never be as luxurious as the Veyron is probably the weakest argument against the car I could fathom. Who on this entire global-warmed planet would drive a Aero or a Veyron more than once a week let alone every day. Its a supercar and it is designed with the singular purpose of producing shattering performance, which, as this review (as well as others) rather plainly demonstrates, it does impressively well. I seldom see a single complaint about the beloved Ferrari F40, which in concept and execution, is very similar to the Aero.

And for those dismissing Jay's patriotism, just shut the hell up and try to find a bit in yourself for your own country.

 

[Hercules286]

And for those dismissing Jay's patriotism, just shut the hell up and try to find a bit in yourself for your own country.

Wha?

I realize my country don't have much to brag about, but your suggestion sounds as if you're telling me to be irrational about things and act like I contributed to other people's achievements, or the achievements of people before me.

How can you say you're a rational human being and be proud of things you weren't responsible for?

 

[Posmo]

I know im a "hater", but I just cant get myself to like this car..

Reasons:

-The whole front looks like shit
-The rear looks like any other supercar
-The interior is crap (compared to some other cars in this price range)
-Isn't it funny how you can identify a proper car by the fact that it HAS traction control and abs. That "I wanted it to be a real drivers car"stuff is full of shit.. Just admit that you wanted to save money by not putting ABS in..
-Finally, I think that company owned sounded like an asshole.

The next Veyron Special edition better have a bit more boost, so it can blow that Yankee back to where it belongs. Hell, I wouldn't even mind if the Swedes did it with an upped Koenigsegg.

And once again, sorry for being a "hater"

 

[pepitko]

It would make a lot more sense to compare this car to the legendary McLaren F1, then it would the Veyron.

x2. Although I have to admit that I do not really like the way both of them look - Aero or McLaren.

Veyron is more like a mid-engined Bentley Continental and twice as fast

 

[prizrak]

I really don't understand people rejecting the Aero purely based on their perception of how it probably is like to drive compared to the Veyron which of course everybody on this forum has driven. To complain that the car couldn't never be as luxurious as the Veyron is probably the weakest argument against the car I could fathom. Who on this entire global-warmed planet would drive a Aero or a Veyron more than once a week let alone every day. Its a supercar and it is designed with the singular purpose of producing shattering performance, which, as this review (as well as others) rather plainly demonstrates, it does impressively well. I seldom see a single complaint about the beloved Ferrari F40, which in concept and execution, is very similar to the Aero.

And for those dismissing Jay's patriotism, just shut the hell up and try to find a bit in yourself for your own country.

Just going by reviews here of course, but the thing about the Veyron is that you COULD use it more than once a week, and easily drive it around every day. This is why Porsches are so popular, and why the new GT-R is so overhyped. These are cars that you can drive to your local Blockbuster and still get home in about 5 minutes even if it's half a city away.

The Veyron is also the ultimate hyper car because it is more than a one trick pony. It's crazy fast, crazy quick, not bad around corners (no Exige or even GT-R/Porsche of course) and can still be driven for hours on end w/o needing a chiropractor afterwards.

Aero (again going by reviews here) seems to only have one selling point - it's top end.

The reason why the F40 is not being mentioned here is simple. The F40 was never up against the Veyron. It is a much older supercar than either the big Beetle or the Aero and dragging it into the discussion is at the very least silly. If you have to drag any Ferrari into it, I would drag the F60 or the FXX. However no one at Ferrari is claiming a top speed record, they are just claiming best supercar and that would be a whole other topic.

It is inevitable to compare any car that is gunning for the highest top speed against the reigning king, which is why the Aero is being compared to the Veyron.

It is a very impressive car, it uses quite literally half the engine (V8 and only 2 turbos) and half the price (just about) to actually go faster than the Veyron. I even like the looks of it, can't help it always was a fan of form follows function, however it just appears to be a one trick pony. Hopefully TG or FG can give it a proper review with some handling tests as well as speed tests and then we can have a better picture of what its like.

 

[TC]

-Isn't it funny how you can identify a proper car by the fact that it HAS traction control and abs. That "I wanted it to be a real drivers car"stuff is full of shit.. Just admit that you wanted to save money by not putting ABS in..

I disagree. The Veyron, for example, can't ever really hit it's top speed because of all the electronic nannies. As Tiff pointed out, you have to pull the Bugatti over, shut it down, take the key out of the ignition, put in the other slot on the floor, set it to "top speed mode", and then re-fire the car. But if you hit a bump over a certain size, or turn the wheel more then 10 degrees, it will automatically kick back into normal mode, making it's top speed impossible to hit. So unless you know of a drag strip long enough to hit 250+mph or a stretch of autobaughn long enough with no bumps, dips, or bends... then it's top speed is just an unrealistic gimmick. Not even at a proper race track could you hit it's top speed, since there are corners and you'd have to stop the car and shut it off, etc, etc, etc, in order set it to hit it's top speed.

The Aero, on the other hand, only has 1 setting. No "protect you from yourself" bullshit.

 

[SuperStalin]

Imagine that crap... going 250mph, and then the car slows down by itself because its sensors
detect a potential threat to your life and your 1.5 million car ( which costs 5 million to make ).

What's wrong with the world today? Where's that old macho stuff when you could
drive 250mph realistically on public roads?

As Jay Leno said, there's no electronic crap here, only brute horsepower coming from that engine,
and horsepower is the end-all be-all of driving, along with top speed and cornering
oops, I'm sorry, Leno said nothing about SSC's cornering abilities...

Well, he didn't even drive it 250mph either...

Wat?

Did I mention that the Ultimate Aero has air-conditioning?
Cool eh?