The first production model of the SSC Tuatara has been unveiled and the company will build 99 more units.

Almost a decade after we first saw the Tuatara, SSC North America has finally begun production of this hypercar. Total production will be just 100 units, and the first car was unveiled at the Philadelphia Auto Show on Friday.

The car was actually delivered to owner Larry Caplin of Philadelphia, PA during the 2019 Monterey Car Week, and he has kept his new toy a secret for six months. Caplin has kept the car out of the spotlight mainly because he wanted to debut it at the Philadelphia Auto Show as part of a tie-in with his charity, CF Charity.

Caplin's Tuatara features pearlescent black paint with red and gloss black accents. It also features the Tuatara's "high speed" configuration as opposed to the "high downforce" setup offered by SSC.

The interior features exposed carbon fiber, a digital meter cluster with a 300 km/h speedometer, and a touchscreen-based interface that controls the infotainment system and drive mode selector The SSC is designed for a person of 6 feet tall 180 cm and promises to be comfortable for a person wearing a helmet.

Mounted in the Tuatara is a 5.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 engine developed by SSC that produces 1,350 hp on pump gas and 1,750 hp on E85, reaching a redline of 8,800 rpm. A seven-speed automated manual transmission from Italy's CIMA can shift gears in less than 100 milliseconds, sending power to the rear wheels. The Tuatara's dry weight is only 2,750 pounds. [The Tuatara is produced at SSC's plant in Richland, Washington, where SSC does most of its work in-house, including manufacturing the carbon fiber monocoque chassis and body. The aerodynamic shape of the car, conceived by renowned designer Jason Castriota, has an aerodynamic drag coefficient of only 0.279, one of the lowest of any high-performance car currently in production

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This is important as SSC plans to challenge Bugatti's production car world speed record; in 2018, SSC CEO Jerrod Shelby said the Tuatara is the only car that can "legitimately aim" for 300 mph.

Shelby was wrong. Bugatti became the first automaker to break the 300 mph barrier in 2019 with the Chiron Supersport 300+. Another contender is Koenigsegg, which is believed to be preparing a high-speed version of the Jesco. The battle for top speed supremacy has just begun.