The path to the fastest production car in the world is a long and complicated one. Automakers like Ferrari and McLaren have done it, but lately, the record-breakers we've seen are from even smaller outfits like Koenigsegg, Rimac (which is not as small anymore), Hennessey, and Bugatti, which ran past 300 mph in a special Chiron, which became the for-sale Chiron Super Sport 300+. But the current Guinness record holder is the SSC Tuatara, which holds a two-way top speed of 282.9 mph. You need a two-way speed to enter the Guinness Book, which averages out for wind and slope.

But that was the company's most recent run. Back in October, it ran the SSC Tuatara to a claimed 331 mph with a two-way average of 316 mph in Nevada. SSC claimed the time as valid providing video proof of the run. Soon after that video was dissected endlessly by YouTube personalities and others, saying the time was faked, making a decent case. Now SSC has finally admitted its mistake (9 months later) via an Instagram post.

"We have seen your questions for months now and understand your frustrations. If it hasn't been made clear up to this point, we would like to acknowledge officially that we did not reach the originally claimed speeds of 331 mph or even 301 mph in October of 2020," read the post.

"We were truly heartbroken as a company to learn that we did not reach this feat, and we are in an ongoing effort to break the 300-mph barrier transparently, officially, and undoubtedly. We also want to thank all of those who were supportive and understanding of our unexpected incident in April that has delayed our top speed efforts."

There's no reason to think the SSC Tautara can't eventually break the record. It sports a 1,750-hp, 5.9-liter twin-turbo V8 from Nelson Racing Engines. It has a coefficient of drag of just 0.279 and the company said that it could and will break the record, as soon as it gets a longer runway than the 2.3-mile strip at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We just hope it keeps the Vbox or GPS or whatever it needs to prove without a doubt that it has the fastest car in the world.