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This article is about the production model used in Asphalt 9: Legends. For the preceding 2011 concept model, see SSC Tuatara.
The SSC Tuatara is a hypercar manufactured by SSC North America.
Overview
- Text originally from the SSC Tuatara's Wikipedia page.
SSC began working on the development of the successor of the SSC Ultimate Aero in 2011. The new car, named the Tuatara was previewed in concept form at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. In August 2018, 7 years after the debut of the concept, the production version of the Tuatara was shown to the general public. Designed by ex-Pininfarina designer Jason Castriota, the car takes inspiration from the aerospace industry.
The Tuatara is named after the reptile, found only in New Zealand, known for having the fastest molecular evolution of any living animal.
SSC claims the Tuatara has the lowest drag coefficient in its class at 0.279. The car has a carbon-fiber body construction with aluminum crumple zones and incorporates active aerodynamics.
The interior contains leather and Alcantara upholstery and the functions of the car are controlled through a touch screen located on the center console. There is a configurable instrument panel behind the steering wheel displaying important information about the car's status along with a 300 mph speedometer. The car uses a camera system instead of traditional side view mirrors. SSC claims that the interior can seat a 6 foot 5 feet tall person wearing a helmet.
The Tuatara will be produced at a purpose-built facility in West Richland, Washington and production will be limited to 100 cars.
SSC has partnered with Nelson Racing Engines to build the engine, Linder Power Systems for engine sub-assembly fabrication and Automac for the production of the 7-speed semi-automatic transmission. The transmission was later revealed to be a 7-speed automated manual manufactured by CIMA. The car has the following driving modes; "Sport", "Track" and "Lift". in sport mode, the ride height is 4 in at the front and 4.5 in at the rear. In track mode, the ride height lowers to 2.75 in at the front and 3.75 in at the rear. The lift mode is designed to protect the underbody of the car while driving over speed bumps or driveways.
The Tuatara is offered with two configurations, a "high-speed" configuration and a "high-downforce" configuration. The first customer car was delivered during the Monterey Car Week and was unveiled at the Philadelphia Motor Show on 7 February 2020.
Asphalt 9: Legends
The SSC Tuatara was added in the American Season Update as a high-end Class S car with the following rank statistics:
- Stock rank: 3,758 ( 1)
- rank: 3,918
- rank: 4,105 ( 40)
- rank: 4,303 ( 45)
- rank: 4,506 ( 60)
- rank: 4,744 ( 70)
- rank: 4,969 ( 85)
Performance
The SSC Tuatara has similar stats to the Koenigsegg Jesko, featuring a very high top speed (2nd fastest in the game), decent acceleration and handling, and low nitro efficiency. Compared to the Jesko, the Tuatara has lower speed but better acceleration, handling and nitro. Its drifting is not as good as the Jesko's, however.
The SSC Tuatara is a better choice than the Jesko for multiplayer and potentially events, as it is slightly easier to get up to and keep speed in the Tuatara than in the Jesko. The Jesko does drift better and is more 'floaty' which allows it to do a 'floaty 360' better than the Tuatara, allowing it to beat the Tuatara on some tracks. Overall, the two cars are very closely matched, but for most players the Tuatara will be an easier car to control and perform well in.
