Watch The SSC Tuatara Sprint From 60-120mph In 2.5 Seconds

You all just want to see the SSC Tuatara hit 300mph, right? This, we’re afraid, isn’t it. But as another taster of its ludicrous potential, this is well worth your time - and it’s not like it takes up much of it.

Further footage from SSC’s closed road testing session in Washington state, it shows a pull from 40 to 140mph which is over unbelievably quickly. In fact, SSC boss Jerod Shelby told Top Gear that a dive into testing data to investigate a potential rev limiter issue revealed that 60 to 120mph took just 2.5 seconds on two of the pulls. Oh, and that was at 90 per cent throttle.

To build speed in such brief increments of time, the Tuatara uses a 5.9-litre twin-turbo V8 built in partnership with Nelson Racing Engines. It’s capable of revving to 8800rpm and develops 1750bhp if fueled with E85. All of that is sent to the rear wheels (making the above acceleration run all the more impressive) via a seven-speed CIMA sequential transmission.

What sets the Tuatara apart from a lot of other hypercars is its weight figure - the claimed figure is just 1247kg. The carbon fibre bodywork is designed by Jason Castriota, who has the Glickenhaus Ferrari P4/5 on his CV.

A couple of years ago Jarod Shelby boldly claimed it was the only carmaker with a realistic shot of hitting 300mph, only for Bugatti to rain on everyone’s parade with its 304mph run in a Chiron Super Sport. Being the ‘best of the rest’ - or the best of the independents if you will - is still a tall order. Development on the Hennessey Venom F5 is ongoing, and Koenigsegg revealed its 300mph-targeting Jesko Absolut a few months ago. We’re in for one hell of a showdown.