Speaks Itself ... Ultimate Review @ KuwaitDrive Blog

The outgoing Ultimate Aero was very generic in its looks. The body, like the rest of the car, was designed by company owner Jerod Shelby (no relation to muscle car legend Carroll Shelby). He admits that the need for slippery aerodynamics governed the outcome of the final product and being an engineer by trade, design wasn’t his greatest strength. Enter Italian American designer Jason Castriota who, in the beginning, had reservations about taking on the project. We couldn’t really blame him after looking at his impressive resume. He has penned cars for the very best in the industry: Ferrari,Pininfarina, Rolls Royce, and Bertone to name but a few. The last thing his career needed was to design a car destined for failure for a small company with more hopes than money or brains. After a visiting the facility and getting to know the staff and more importantly, their ideals and the car, he took the plunge and created what you see before you.

The outcome is breathtaking, especially once you peel the body work away to reveal how technically challenging it was to overcome the dreaded forces of nature at 200+mph, whilst packaging the required mechanical components. It is the ultimate example of form meeting function, to create a harmonious whole. We like the black teardrop shaped canopy that sits on top of the white exterior, creating a stunning contrast of power and beauty. The shape is classic and pivotal, and has a very low drag co-efficient. The car features dihedral stabilizers or wings that have been borrowed from the realm of aviation. The term “flying buttress” might be construed as a being a bit naughty, but they are actually wings that help support the structure of the car. In this case, they are those bits on the side of the SSC Aero II, which channel air towards the engine intakes – a Castriota design signature.

The front looks intimidating and purposeful with its low slung nose and carbon fiber headlights. Looking closely, you’ll notice venting for the carbon brakes and a cohesive front splitter that generates enough downforce to keep the nose planted at speed. There is no hood or luggage space, or any kind of compromise with this car. The side profile is sleek and sexy – there are no door handles or side repeaters and the car barely stands over a meter tall. Massive lower recesses house air intakes in front of the rear wheel arches and feed the ravenous engine and cooling radiators with much-needed cold air, while doing its bit to balance the look. It checks all the hypercar boxes and then some. Elements of the first Aero are maintained, most notably the party piece doors and simple-spoked wheel design. The latter being the first ever one piece carbon fiber wheels ever fitted to a car. They are products of Australian company, Carbon Revolution, and the 19" fronts weigh just 5.8kg each.

 

The entire body and chassis, save for front and rear impact zones, are all made from carbon fiber - further emphasizing lightness as key. This is not necessarily for top speed, but more for everyday driving and handling. All mid-engined cars require apertures in the bodywork to help get rid of heat – they usually take the form of slats or louvers but since this car is anything but, it features circular cut outs in various diameters to expel heat and generate pub controversy. Moving to the other-worldly rear, dynamics take over, with aesthetics playing second fiddle. The entire under floor of the car is sealed leading up to the rear which functions as the mother of all diffusers, complete with F1-style exhaust. From this angle, it does bear slight resemblance to an R8 and by slight, we mean slight – the proportions and shapes are similar. Between the rear stabilizers is a hydraulically operated air brake – ala Bugatti Veyron and Merc SLR that comes into play at higher-than-allowed speeds. Dimension wise, the Aero II is slightly more narrow than before to comply with FIA GT regulations, should they decide to race it.

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