Spectrum Saloon Car (SSC)
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The Spectrum Saloon Car (SSC), or Spectrum Patrol Car (SPC), is a fictional vehicle from Gerry Anderson's Science Fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967).
[edit] Appearance in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Accessible only to Spectrum personnel, the SSC is 18 ft long and equipped with four wheel drive. It can seat up to five people and reach speeds of up to 200 m.p.h., powered by a gas turbine located under the rear floor. The car is specially equipped with quartz headlights which allow the driver to see long distances in the dark. The vehicle also features tranverse gearing, independent suspension and magnetic brake drums which provide powerful control braking by means of electromagnetically generated opposing magnetic fields. The road/tyre friction heat at high speeds is countered by wing intakes, while a central housing and rear-mounted fin maintain the vehicle's stability at speed. Safety airbags are fitted as standard.
In the series, the SSC was realised as a scale model designed by Mike Trim.[1]
[edit] The Cheetah
In the recent CGI series Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet (2005), the SSCs successor is known as the Spectrum Cheetah. While the updated vehicle strongly resembles the SSC, it has an added capability; It is equipped with extendable wings, a tailfin and booster rockets which when deployed allow the car to glide over obstructions in the road.
