ssc ultimate aero vs veyron

[mpicco]

The Ultimate aero is more made for Cornering and not so much top speed.
Where as the Bugatti is made for top speed and not so much cornering.

Car made by Americans... with the name Shelby associated with it... which claims can do 270 mph... good at corners... IIIiiiiiiiiiii dont knnnoooww...

I'd like to point out that there is another road-legal supercar that lapped the TG test track a full 6 seconds faster than the Veyron SS; it did it 0.1 seconds faster than a Ferarri FXX on slicks piloted by Schumacher. It's too bad Clarkson removed it immediately from the board though, seeing how that supercar was British-origin and the production model does have ability to raise ground clearance. Nevertheless, I digress. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

The Caparo T1... that's a good point, albeit... it really isn't a road car, honestly. You'd have to live in the flattest country on earth with some very good roads (the Netherlands perhaps?) to get it anywhere by just driving it. Otherwise you'd have to load it in the back of a truck or a trailer to take it to your local track.
Despite it being road legal, around my city it'd be slower than my 1996 Renault 19, and that's why it's not on the board...

 

[nist7]

Car made by Americans... with the name Shelby associated with it... which claims can do 270 mph... good at corners... IIIiiiiiiiiiii dont knnnoooww...



The Caparo T1... that's a good point, albeit... it really isn't a road car, honestly. You'd have to live in the flattest country on earth with some very good roads (the Netherlands perhaps?) to get it anywhere by just driving it. Otherwise you'd have to load it in the back of a truck or a trailer to take it to your local track.
Despite it being road legal, around my city it'd be slower than my 1996 Renault 19, and that's why it's not on the board...

Did I mention the production model has the ability to increase ground clearance?

And pretty much all of the top 10 cars are just as impractical....no storage room, very little interior space, very low ground clearance, high maintenance, breaks your spine, etc. etc. Gumpert Apollo? Ascari A10? Caterham Seven R500? Noble M600? MC12?

But the point is that the Caparo T1 is probably the most astonishing car TG has ever had the privilege to test in recent years. Ok so the new Veyron and the Gumpert Apollo and the Ascari A10 set new lap records, beating the old one by half a second or so. But the Caparo T1 completely demolished the competition and it's still completely road-legal. And as I see it, it's not any less "road-car" than a Gumpert Apollo, which is basically a road-legal racecar...so are most of the top 10 cars.

 

[mpicco]

nist, they claim 90 mm of ground clearance. That wouldn't clear the speed bumps here, you'd get stuck hanging on the underside and ruin it honestly... A Veyron would clear them easily, so would most of the top cars.

 

[Meio]

nist, they claim 90 mm of ground clearance. That wouldn't clear the speed bumps here, you'd get stuck hanging on the underside and ruin it honestly... A Veyron would clear them easily, so would most of the top cars.

From Carfolio where quoted:

Gumpert Apollo = 40mm
Bugatti Veyron = 65mm
Koenigsegg CCX = 100mm
Caterham Seven R500 = 80mm

Anyway it's not so much ground clearance you have to worry about, it's approach, departure and break angles which are more a feature of front and rear overhangs and wheelbase.

There is another car which has beaten the Veyron Super Sport and that is The Ultima GTR; by 4 seconds in a road configuration that can get over speed bumps and such. In a 'tweaked' configuration (which Hammond hinted at to a certain degree by mentioning adjustable ride heights in the Gumpert review by the way) including slicks they managed under 1:10, but that was more to show the finger to Ferrari and Schumacher.

Yes yes I know the driver wasn't wearing the Stig costume, but the driver (Phil Keen) has on occasion worn the white suit apparently and in all other respects the lap was the same (same conditions, same track operators, same timing equipment).

Seriously I'm not impressed my a ?1.6m car that can only do a 1:16.8, for that money I want Star Wars style hyperspace.

There are other seriously limited edition cars that I would like to see on that track. The Caparo was one, but the mental bonkers Caterham Levante is another.

As for limited edition, I thought the SSC Aero was somewhat limited to 25. The Ultimate Aero being a number of 'specials' within that run, but maybe that's wikipedia wisdom. Besides a massive, blown engine in a heavy, aerodynamic looking car doesn't do anything for me either.

 

[Quietus]

the aero looks like a ricer compared to the veyron

 

[Evel]

the aero looks like a ricer compared to the veyron

My thoughts exactly. The Veyron is an elegant thing, while the Aero seems like a shouty and ugly object.

Oh, and I'd like to point out a couple quotes from the Autocar review of the SSC:

Fit and finish aren't great.

We couldn?t help but love the Aero TT?s blue paint, but the body looks like something from the mid-1990s, with noticeable variances in some panel gaps.

The interior leaves much to be desired, but it?s easy to get in and out.

Despite the brochure claiming that the car has power steering, we didn?t notice any assistance, and manoeuvring at parking speeds requires sheer physical strength.

The big Michelins grip tenaciously and the chassis feels suitably rigid (as does the ride).

It?s close to terrifying on a normal A-road, and all the while there?s a palpable sense of the almost infinite urge lying in reserve.

The [brake] pedal pressure required is inordinately high, with almost no feel or power.

This is where the Veyron comes in. Yes, it may be slower in a straight line (Unless we're talking about the SS), and yes, it is a lot more expensive, but all these flaws are, if automotive journalists are to be believed, non-existant in it.

 

[Mr. Nice]

My thoughts exactly. The Veyron is an elegant thing, while the Aero seems like a shouty and ugly object.

Oh, and I'd like to point out a couple quotes from the Autocar review of the SSC:















This is where the Veyron comes in. Yes, it may be slower in a straight line (Unless we're talking about the SS), and yes, it is a lot more expensive, but all these flaws are, if automotive journalists are to be believed, non-existant in it.

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/2008-ssc-ultimate-aero-/275184/

Watch the above video. Who are you going to believe, Autocars review or your own eyes?

 

[Evel]

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/2008-ssc-ultimate-aero-/275184/

Watch the above video. Who are you going to believe, Autocars review or your own eyes?

Video won't work. However, I fail to see how a video could prove any of those points wrong, apart from the panel gaps perhaps.

 

[Mr. Nice]

Find a way to watch the video, you'll find that it refutes most of the claims you posted, including the one about it being easy to get in and out.

 

[nist7]

Youtube of the Jay Leno review:

Video won't work. However, I fail to see how a video could prove any of those points wrong, apart from the panel gaps perhaps.

I think Autocar's opinions are valid, from their point of view. If you watch Jay Leno's review he focuses more on the success of the car (alot of other companies claim to build a huge powered car and turns out to be either just an engine swap or doesn't materialize). This guy said he wanted to do it, he did it, and it made world records.

Although I find it interesting that they described the chassis as "amazingly rigid." Whereas in your quote it sounded as if it was a bad thing...as if it's better to have a soft chassis

But the part being it terrifying on a normal road is absolutely true...as there is no ABS, no traction control. And Leno describes the driving experience as if you are in control of a Le Mans car...with scary amounts of power and the only computer that's in control is the one inside your skull not tucked away in a computer chip. Not to mention a proper 6 speed gearbox and of course loud BOV. Leno differentiates that the Veyron is a proper luxury car and the SSC is a proper sportscar.

So to use one side's standard to criticize the other doesn't make much sense. ie, using luxury standards of the Veyron (ease of use, comfy ride, quality and finish) against that of a crazy sportscar (brutally visceral experience, small margin of error, difficult to control) just don't end well.

Respect is due where it is due. Bugatti have made a car that can go 250+ mph that can be driven by virtually anyone and in great comfort, a territory of speed that were previously reserved for the insanely skilled and the insanely insane. But now that is accessible to anyone able to pony up the money. The SSC is a small time company that probably have only a tiny tiny fraction of the resources that Bugatti has but was able to churn out a sportscar that rivals the Veyron's brute performance. So both sides need to show respect to the other guy.

Personally? I'll take the SSC. I'll let the Rolls/Bentley/etc. do my luxury pampering.

 

[Meio]

Oh and the ground clearance for an SSC Ultimate Aero is 89mm

 

[4TecH]

According to the Worlds most expensive rides, the best feature this car has is the touchscreen DVD player and an 11 speaker stereo

Joking aside, I have to give them credit that they got that kind of speed from a V8 and still managed to keep it cool. But it ends there. As an engineering achievement, this and Veyron are in completely different league. As for the looks, the Aero looks like a canoe compered to Veyron. And the interior is disgusting...

 

[TestECull]

Honestly I think the Veyron is a joke. It's hideous, it's overweight, it's overcomplicated and it eats it's tires alive. It's also apparently rather temperamental, it needs a perfectly groomed test track to reach it's top speed as opposed to a seldom repaved back road in rural Oregon.

Just watch. The boys at SSC are going to up the boost a bit and make another pass, and they will out-run the riced-out Veyron SS. It's been said the Ultimate Aero is aerodynamically good to 275, so they have headroom on that front.

As a side note I would LOVE to see the Aero at TG's track. Let's see if it can out-run that riced Veyron on the test track.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

It would be very interesting to see how the Ultimate Aero stacks up against the Veyron if it had a proper top-speed track to test on, not just a couple of miles of closed off desert highway. The problem is European availability. Either someone in Europe has to give them a personal car to test or if SSC made a demo car available, neither of which seems unlikely to happen. VW is obviously catching onto popular culture and knows that Top Gear has become a very dominant international automotive-news outlet and it wasn't surprising that they actually allowed the Veyron SS with lots of screen time.

But I do have to say that the one thing that impressed me about the Veryon SS is that VW have actually managed to make it even uglier. I honestly didn't think that was possible. The top speed thing is boring imo.

VW wouldnt let them take a ssc to the VW track to do the test properly.... where would they do a head to head? i reckon some of the glass smooth asphalt in the UAE , get a sultan or a sheik to close the road for an afternoon.

Honestly I think the Veyron is a joke. It's hideous, it's overweight, it's overcomplicated and it eats it's tires alive. It's also apparently rather temperamental, it needs a perfectly groomed test track to reach it's top speed as opposed to a seldom repaved back road in rural Oregon.

Just watch. The boys at SSC are going to up the boost a bit and make another pass, and they will out-run the riced-out Veyron SS. It's been said the Ultimate Aero is aerodynamically good to 275, so they have headroom on that front.

As a side note I would LOVE to see the Aero at TG's track. Let's see if it can out-run that riced Veyron on the test track.

errrr riced? ok

also, i wouldnt wanna be the driver of either car at 275mph..... im not so sure they know enough about the tyres at those speeds. can you imagine a blow out at 275? they wouldnt be picking any piece of you up off the ground, theyd be too small to find.

 

[GraemeH]

riced-out Veyron SS

riced Veyron

 

[WillDAQ]

Honestly I think the Veyron is a joke. It's hideous, it's overweight, it's overcomplicated and it eats it's tires alive.

That's because it's comparatively safe to drive at those high speeds, unlike the "slap some more boost on" SSC.

 

[Quietus]

also, i wouldnt wanna be the driver of either car at 275mph..... im not so sure they know enough about the tyres at those speeds. can you imagine a blow out at 275? they wouldnt be picking any piece of you up off the ground, theyd be too small to find.

The Veyron's tires actually surpassed its top speed during testing. Watch the NatGeo documentary. Plus, I think they are called engineers for a reason, they test their products to match or exceed set quality standards. This is VW/Bugatti we are talking about, not a shed run by five men.