Hennessey Venom GT
John Hennessey spent a lot of time over the years improving already fast vehicles; Ford GTs, Dodge Vipers, and Chevrolet Corvettes. Now, it's time for Hennessey Performance Engineering to present its very own supercar, the 2011 Venom GT.
The Venom GT began as a Lotus Elise and has focused much on weight reduction. For that goal, Hennessey added 20" carbon fiber wheels wrapped in massive Michelin PS2 tires and lightweight carbon fiber bodywork. It gets Brembo brakes with 4 - piston calipers in rear clamping down on 15 - inch ceramic rotors and 6 - piston calipers up front.
Hennessey is also marketing an active aero system with an adjustable rear wing that will activate under varying conditions on both racetrack and road. The customers will be able to adjust the ride height according to driving and speed conditions thanks to an adjustable suspension system.
For the engine of Venom Gt, Hennessey uses a Corvette ZR1 sourced 376 cid aluminum V8 engine that delivers a very impressive 725 HP. The engine transfer its power to the rear wheels via a Ricardo 6 - speed gearbox and the handling is facilitated by a KW variant three - adjustable coil over suspension.
Also, the tuner is offering 1000 HP and 1200 HP twin turbo V8 engine variants that use twin precision ball bearing turbochargers. The Venom GT, in the more powerful version, pushes out 1200 HP at 6,500 rpm and 1,155 lb - ft of torque at 4,200 rpm. That converts into a HP/Weight of 767.23 per ton (2.61 lbs/HP) and a specific output of 166 HP/L.
In an easier explanation, the 1200 HP Venom GT will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds and to 200 mph in 15.9 seconds and with a top speed of 275 mph.
With that magnitude of power and 275 top speed, the Venom GT will tackle face the latest Bugatti Veyron Super Sport head on. Of course there is a huge difference between the two models, however, power and mph are the only two taken under consideration here.
The Bugatti model is supported by a W16 engine that provides a total of 1200 HP and has established an impressive world record of 167 mph. All Hennessey has to do now is to challenge that record. It already defeated the Veyron in the 0 to 200 mph sprint with a time of 15.9 seconds, compared to the Veyron's 24.2 seconds, so maybe it will be an attainable goal.
The Venom GT car will take six months to build and Hennessey will only be producing five cars a year. These supercars are assembled in Hennessey's facilities in Texas, Sealy, Lake Forest, California and Silverstone, England.
The 750 - hp Venom GT's price begins at $725,000, while the 1,200 - hp version rises up to $950,000 plus shipping. Also at this price, customers will be getting a 2 yr/24,000 mile warranty.