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Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Record-Breaking SSC Ultimate Aero Destroyed in Public Stunt, Founder Calls It Shameful
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector A supercar once celebrated as America's fastest vehicle met an explosive and controversial end over the weekend—by design. The 2007 SSC Ultimate Aero, which set a Guinness-verified production car speed record in 2007 by reaching 256.14 mph, was destroyed during the 'Thunder at the Mountain' monster truck rally in West Richland, Washington. The act was reportedly carried out at the behest of its owner, who instructed organizers that the car must not survive the event intact. The car was crushed by multiple monster trucks, then torn apart by a mechanical 'dragon' wrecker and finally torched by a flamethrower, leaving little more than carbon-fiber shards and charred remains. The move stunned members of the automotive community, including SSC North America founder Jerod Shelby, who called the destruction 'a shameful loss of automotive history.' 'There are only 24 of these cars in existence, and this one set a world record that dethroned Bugatti,' Shelby said in a statement to media. 'It was a symbol of American engineering.' Launched in 2007, the SSC Ultimate Aero was powered by a twin-turbocharged 6.3-liter V8 that produced 1,180 horsepower. In September of that year, the car overtook the Bugatti Veyron's top speed record on a closed stretch of road in Washington State. Chuck Bigelow, then 72, piloted the run without a helmet, backed by a small team of engineers. Though the engine had been removed before the rally stunt, the car's body and provenance remained intact. The destruction appears to stem from a personal dispute between the car's anonymous owner and the manufacturer, although specific details have not been disclosed. With the car now gone, only 23 Ultimate Aeros remain. Automotive historians say the loss erases a tangible piece of modern American racing heritage. 'It's the equivalent of lighting the Wright brothers' plane on fire,' one enthusiast remarked. Images Via Facebook/Supercars México - Autos Exóticos de México Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
The Drive
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
2007's Fastest Car Was Just Crushed by Monster Trucks and Fed to Mecha Godzilla
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Twenty years ago, Bugatti set the world production car top speed record with the then-new Veyron, at 253.81 mph. Just two years later, Washington-based SSC—a company which hadn't even been around a decade by that point—claimed the honor for itself, notching 256.14 mph with its Ultimate Aero supercar. Fast forward to today, and the very car that set that record is a tangle of scrap metal and carbon fiber. Last week, it was demolished by a monster truck, before a fire-breathing robot dinosaur on tank treads ripped it apart and torched the remains. What happened? This all went down during the 'Thunder at the Mountain' monster truck event at Richland, Washington's Tri-City Raceway over the weekend. Images on social media show the former record holder being lined up for destruction, as well as the aftermath. Freddy 'Tavarish' Hernandez was among the first to share the news on Saturday and, according to his Facebook post, 'Apparently the owner was so displeased with SSC that he donated the historic car to the racetrack, as long as it was thoroughly destroyed with no exceptions.' We can't speak on that, but The Drive was able to get in touch with SSC North America founder and CEO Jerod Shelby, who told us that SSC 'hasn't owned that particular car in over 10 years,' and the company 'certainly didn't have anything to do with this monster truck event.' Shelby called it 'a shame.' You can see footage of the mechanical T-Rex feasting on the supercar below. 'That car was part of automotive history and also had an amazing story behind its lead up to the 2007 Guinness World Record and the amazing gentleman, Chuck Bigelow (who has since passed away), who piloted the car back then for that amazing record,' Shelby told The Drive . Bigelow died in a plane crash just a year after his SSC top speed run; he was 72. The Ultimate Aero destroyed last weekend wasn't a running machine, Shelby said. 'That car had been a non-functioning museum piece for the last several years, but I can't imagine why anyone would want to destroy a vehicle of that stature. But, even with the knowledge of this unfortunate news, it still can never take away the amazing memories that particular car created for us in the early days of the SSC journey!' Seen here around the time of its record run, the SSC Ultimate Aero used a 6.3-liter, twin-turbo Chevy V8 that made 1,183 horsepower and 961 lb-ft of torque. SSC There's still undoubtedly more to this story than what we know, so if the final owner of the record-setting Ultimate Aero would like to tell us why they chose to donate it to a monster truck rally, drop us a note at tips@ In the meantime, we're going to be a little sad that this piece of automotive history has met its end in one of the least dignified manners imaginable, though at least it gave kids smiles and laughter on the way out.
