Fastest production car-world record set by Ultimate Aero car

[Sep 15] WEST RICHLAND, WA, US--The Ultimate Aero Supercar, build by Jerod Shelby, went 255-miles per hour and set the new world record for the fastest production car.

   "Today was an amazing day," said Shelby after the 387-cubic-inch, 1,183-horsepower, twin turbo-enhanced vehicle did its stuff.

   Driver Chuck Bigelow piloted the Ultimate Aero twice on the two-lane straightaway, reaching 257.11 mph heading south, then 254.55 mph on the same stretch going north.(enlarge photo)

   The official average top speed for the two runs was 255.83 mph.

   "So much blood, sweat and tears to have given into this project over the last five years, that to achieve this, and to have the title of world's fastest production car, it's still sinking in. It's very surreal," said Jerod Shelby, founder and lead designer of Shelby Supercars LLD.

   This vehicle has air conditiioning, power windows, GPS navigation, and in-car cameras.

   To show anyone can drive the car, the man behind the wheel was 71 years-old.    

   Shelby and his family members, including a brother and his parents, have been working for six years to achieve the goal reached Thursday. Breaking the Bugatti Veyron's record should catapult the Ultimate Aero into the public eye as the fastest street-legal car money can buy.

   Shelby also likes to note that his made-in-America Ultimate Aero is priced at only $549,000, while the foreign-made Bugatti Veyron goes for $1.5 million.

   Shelby has built seven of these vehicles. The car costs about $549,000.

    The Ultimate Aero and Aero are assembled at the Shelby SuperCars shop in West Richland, but the family-owned business also has manufacturing sites in Auburn and Phoenix.

   So far, Shelby said he has delivered seven of his Aero line to customers, and has orders for 25 more.For more information about Shelby and the cars, go to www.shelbysupercars.com.