Last week, the automotive industry as a whole held its breath when news broke that the SSC Tuatara had driven to a world-record speed at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds (JBPG). Following a controversial attempt in October that led to plenty of armchair speculation and flack online, plus a second run that led to the Tuatara's engine suffering heat soak, the claim of a new record seemed fully reasonable to question.
This time, however, SSC North America (formerly Shelby SuperCars Inc and named after founder Jerod Shelby, who has no relationship to Carroll Shelby) brought along an overkill staff of data-loggers in addition to the JBPG crew that typically populates the Kennedy Space Center's 2.3-mile runway, just to ensure that the effort proved worthwhile.
And by all accounts, the day was a triumph, ending with the Tuatara logging two successful runs in opposite directions within an hour of each other. Though the Tuatara did not verifiably crack the magic 300-mile-per-hour mark, the first northbound run clocked in at 279.7 miles per hour and 50 minutes later, going south, the car reached a max of 286.1 mph—for an average two-way speed of 282.9 mph. That stat bests the previous two-way mark of 277.87 mph set by Koenigsegg's Agera RS in 2017 (in both directions), though neither come close to the 304.77-mph one-way speed achieved by the Bugatti Chiron in 2019.
The specific Tuatara performing the feat was the same one that made the previous two attempts and belongs to Dr. Larry Caplin, who this time around, decided to drive the car himself. I spoke with Dr. Caplin two days after his world record run to learn more about his own automotive story leading up to the historic feat and find out why he decided to drive the car personally this time around.
Dr Larry Caplin - Dentist, Philanthropist, and Supercar Owner
Caplin is a dentist by training, though he's better known these days as the co-founder with his wife of CF Charities, a philanthropic venture that harnesses the excitement of his impressive supercar collection to provide healthcare for children lacking access, as well as scholarships to colleges and professional schools here in the United States and support for military servicemembers and their dependents all over the globe.
Throughout our conversation, Caplin reiterated that the charity is where he finds true value for the stupendous cars that he owns, even though his focus on automobiles began at a young age.
“I’ve been involved with cars since I was a kid," he explained. "Started off sweeping floors in a shop that worked on cars when I was 12 and was working on cars when I was 14 and 15 years old in the shop, and continued on from there. So I’ve always been involved with cars, whether mechanically or driving them."
In more recent history, Caplin has developed a relationship with the SSC team ever since his first supercar purchase, Ultimate Aero number 15.
Developing A Relationship With SSC
“The very first exotic car that I purchased was the SSC Ultimate Aero, before I ever bought a Ferrari or a Lamborghini or anything else. The very first car that I had was the car that held the record as the fastest production car in the world. So I sort of went right into the deep end of the pool."
Caplin also repeatedly explained that he actually drives his supercars, which largely serves as the reason he ended up behind the wheel of a Tuatara at over 270 miles per hour last week.
"Because I drove my car and was really the only Ultimate Aero out there being driven," he explained. "SSC came to me and asked me if I would be interested in being the owner of the new car, number 1. And would I be willing to use that car to set the world record. And I agreed to both."
At that time, Caplin didn't know he'd be the one actually driving for the world-record attempt. For the first run, professional driver Oliver Webb slipped into the cockpit but Caplin himself has plenty of experience at speed, having taken his Ultimate Aero out on the JBPG tarmac previously and also taking part in Ferrari's Corse Clienti program, where he gets coaching from Ferrari's team drivers on how to best operate the track-only FXX-K and 599XX in their natural habitats.
In addition to his Tuatara and Ultimate Aero, Caplin's collection largely centers around rare American supercars, including a Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo that's one of three competition cars, the final Mosler ever built, the one-off Raptor GTR, and three Ford GT examples—a new GT in Gulf livery and two from 2005, one of which he dailies and has racked up 55,000 miles on the clock. He's also got the "sort of regular ones," by which Caplin means Ferraris and Lamborghinis (his Gallardo Superleggera has driven 112,000 miles!)
So clearly, this guy has some experience behind the wheel of the world's best cars. And yet, I asked him, how does it feel to know you're going to try to go faster than any production car ever?
Preparation Made The Record Possible
“I think everyone feels differently in cars at speed," Caplin responded. "For me, I’m very calm and at peace at speed. I don’t think my blood pressure or pulse changes, to be honest with you. It’s one of the very few places on the planet where I’m completely present—because you have to be—and it really is kind of peaceful.”
But Caplin's confidence on the day of wasn't all specious and existentialist—preparation was the name of the game.
“I want people to understand that this is dangerous and the reason that I was calm was because we were prepared," Caplin reiterated. "The team was prepared, the car was prepared, and I was prepared. And that allowed me to be calm. It’s all preparation and it’s not taking unnecessary risks and it’s not being careless or reckless. I told them all along that if at any point I didn’t feel comfortable in the car, I would turn the car back over and say, 'Alright, I’m not driving.' But Jason Castriota’s aerodynamics in that car made the car incredibly stable at speed."
Top Speed In The Tuatara
The balance between aerodynamics, traction, power, and suspension required to shoot for 300 miles per hour on a 2.3-mile circuit led to a process of fine-tuning for Caplin's Tuatara, as well as the whole team's planning process. The Tuatara makes 1,750 horsepower but with such limited space at JBPG, acceleration becomes just as important as top speed. Caplin started accelerating on an access road, where he short-shifted out of first gear before even hitting the true tarmac. And he wasn't anywhere near full throttle until the top of third, otherwise the Tuatara's prodigious output would risk wheelspin and lost gains.
The twin-turbocharged V8's flat-plane crankshaft allows a redline of 8,800 RPM, but the SSC and Nelson Racing Engines team was using a torque-by-gear ECU map to keep Caplin on pace for the record at the right moment, so he typically shifted around 7,400-7,800 during acceleration. Nailing the perfect run was an iterative process, requiring the team to solve engineering challenges over multiple days and weekends. But finally, the day came, and Caplin was as ready as the car itself.
"I was in seventh and I was up near the top, probably at about 7,800 RPM. But you have to factor in not just gear and RPM, you have to factor in horsepower and boost at each point, as well," Caplin told me. "Because that will impact that amount of horsepower you have and what your torque is. So all of the boost wasn’t given to me. I asked for everything in fifth, sixth, and seventh and the decision from SSC was that they would put full boost in at the top of seventh. So I went from about 270 to 286 in about three seconds. And if you watch the other top-speed runs, from 270 to 284, I think Koenigsegg took like 18 seconds to do that. Think about being able to do it in three seconds versus 18."
Disappearing Down The Runway At Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds
Caplin estimates he went from .2g of acceleration to .8g in those three seconds—starting at 270 miles per hour—the final burst that allowed the Tuatara to set the record.
"And that was the most fun three seconds I had in the car."
Caplin's demeanor as we spoke supported the calm he claims to have felt while breaking the world record. For him, raising money to support others is the most important part about the Tuatara's record, easily justifying all the work from SSC, Nelson Racing Engines, and the support crews who documented the attempt from JBPG, Racelogic (which produces VBox), Life Racing, Garmin, and the International Mile Racing Organization.
He also felt like the controversial October announcement let down the automotive community—which served as further inspiration to drive the Tuatara personally for this go-around and ensure that the process lived up to the standards required to successfully raise the goal of $282,000 in donations for CF Charities.
Dr. Caplin Believes The Tuatara Will Top 300 MPH
Caplin finds value in all his cars, though, not just the incredible supercars that bring home the bacon. “I have some older stuff, as well," he revealed. "Every car that I have has a meaning. We have a '77 Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am that was in the Bandit museum because my wife’s first car was one of those. I have a '67 Impala SS where my father was the salesman and my uncle was the buyer. I have a '70 Ford Bronco that my son and I built as a rock crawler and a '68 Camaro with my other son."
Today, the Tuatara stands at the pinnacle of automotive technology, a firmly established star with a documented world record for the history books. But competition from the likes of Koenigsegg, Bugatti, Hennessey, and more means SSC and Dr. Larry Caplin need to keep pushing.
Given the setting, the Tuatara had been equipped with a different final drive ratio to allow for greater acceleration, so I asked Caplin if he thought the car could even get to 300 mph with the current gearing. He answered with a definite affirmative. The plan to eclipse that mythical number with another two-way record is already in the works—and Caplin believes the Tuatara could reach significantly higher speeds, even on the "short" runway at JBPG.
"Keep in mind, although we set the record, the car is nowhere near its limit. That car has much more to give, there’s more in the tank.”
Sources: topspeed.com, bugatti.com, sscnorthamerica.com, nelsonracingengines.com, cfcharities.org, liferacing.com, and instagram.com.