The cover slides off slowly, carbon stripe catching the light first, then the red tint underneath it. Steve Hamilton stands there for a second, taking it in.
“That is beautiful.”
Hamilton had ordered the car about a year earlier, after a visit to SSC that left him convinced he needed one in his collection. SSC completed the build itself in eight months, which Hamilton called the fastest turnaround he had personally experienced with a car. He spent that stretch checking in from a distance, trying not to think too hard about how long the wait actually felt. Now, at Monterey Car Week, it was finally over.
A Cover Comes Off, and So Does the Suspense
The car had arrived at an indoor delivery facility, parked under a custom-fitted cover with that carbon stripe running down the middle and a personalized license plate hidden underneath. SSC founder Jared Shelby walked Hamilton through the moment, building the kind of suspense that only comes from watching someone slowly peel a cover off something he had been waiting months to see.
Underneath was a car built almost entirely out of exposed carbon fiber, with a deep red tint and yellow accents running across the body.
The Details That Made This Build Different
Once the initial shock wore off, the details started standing out one by one. The hood carried that same red tint over bare carbon, one that only revealed its true color in direct sunlight, something Hamilton admitted had looked almost black from a distance before the sun hit it just right. A titanium exhaust in a gold finish that contrasted sharply against the rest of the body protruded straight through the rear glass above the engine bay, giving anyone behind the car a direct view of the hardware doing the work.
Inside, SSC had built Hamilton’s car around what the team called the Hero Seat, the first time they had built one, paired with black anodized gauges and heavy carbon trim throughout the cabin. Shelby mentioned that customers who had since seen Hamilton’s black interior combination in person kept asking for the same setup, which meant this particular car was quietly setting a trend before it had even left the building.
Small touches kept surfacing as the walkthrough continued. Auto-closing dihedral doors saved Hamilton from ever having to worry about someone slamming one shut, a detail he specifically said he appreciated after years of dealing with other exotics. An adjustable suspension system let the car drop down low for show or lift itself up to what practically amounted to four wheel drive height for loading and transport. Even the frunk got a moment of attention, since none of the other cars in Hamilton’s collection, a lineup that includes a Porsche GT3 RS, a Koenigsegg Jesko, and a McLaren Senna, actually has front trunk space.
Starting the Engine for the First Time
Eventually, Hamilton climbed in and started the twin-turbo flat-plane crank V8 for the first time. The engine note surprised him almost immediately. Instead of the deep, uneven muscle car rumble some hypercars go for, the flat-plane crank gave the Tuatara a smoother, higher pitched sound entirely its own, something Shelby explained was simply part of how that engine architecture behaves.
The next morning, Hamilton took the Tuatara out on public roads around Monterey with Shelby riding along in the passenger seat. He described the acceleration in simple terms, saying that even light throttle input was enough to make the car surge forward in a way that reminded him why he loves driving these machines in the first place. Along the drive, the two passed a Koenigsegg Jesko Absolute and a Ferrari F40, while Hamilton’s own Apollo IE trailed behind, and more than one police car took notice of the small procession rolling through town.
The Verdict After Eight Months
By the end of the drive, Hamilton had made up his mind. He called the SSC Tuatara the world’s most underrated hypercar, pointing to both the craftsmanship on display and how quickly SSC had delivered a heavily customized, nearly two million dollar car. For a manufacturer that has spent years fighting for recognition against better known European rivals, that kind of praise from a longtime collector carries real weight.
Before Hamilton drove off, Shelby mentioned one more thing. SSC has been developing an all-electric front axle package, and Hamilton’s car is one of the ones they hope to test it on. If it happens, the Tuatara he waited so long for will not stay exactly as it is today.
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