Age: 46
Hometown: Richland, Washington
Company: SSC North America; 16 employees in a 40,000-square-foot facility in West Richland, Washington. Shelby is the sole owner.
Past project: Ultimate Aero, a 1287-hp mid-engined supercar, was certified in 2007 as the fastest production car by the Guinness Book of World Records, recording a two-way average of 256.15 mph on a closed highway in Washington state.
Current project: Tuatara, a 1350-hp, twin-turbocharged, 6.9-liter V-8–powered supercar with a projected top speed of 276 mph, which Shelby reckons is enough to retake the production-car top-speed record. Yours for only $1.3 million.
C/D: You aren’t related to Carroll Shelby . Has your name been a help or hindrance?
JS: Between around 2004 and 2008, people would always ask if I was related to Carroll Shelby or if we modified Mustangs. Then we decided to use the acronym SSC when referring to Shelby Supercars in all our media. This really helped diminish the confusion.
C/D: Does top speed still matter?
JS: Speed equates to exhilaration, sensation, adrenaline, and a feeling of freedom and power. There are so few owners and drivers who can find a proper road to achieve speeds in excess of 240 or 250 mph that I don’t see top speed being as important now as it was five or 10 years ago. We are currently designing a car that has the opportunity to be the world’s fastest all-around car; not just the car capable of the highest top speed. The Tuatara will be put to the test right out of the gate at the Nürburgring.
- 1000-hp AMS Ronin Nissan GT-R Tested
- 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Tested: 2.2 Seconds to 60!
- 2014 McLaren P1 Tested!
C/D: What’s been your biggest screw-up?
JS: Going out and breaking the Guinness top-speed record before showcasing all the other performance characteristics of our vehicles. Once we broke that record, it completely overshadowed all the other great characteristics of the Ultimate Aero.
C/D: This is no easy business. Why do you do it?
JS: Because it is one of the most challenging engineering tasks that I can envision myself being involved in during my lifetime. And due to the level of difficulty, it can also be the most rewarding.
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