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The Venom GT is a tuning creation from Hennessey based off the Lotus Elise. Their kit was limited to only five units. The Venom GT is powered by a supercharged 6.2 liter LS9 V8 engine, same used in the Corvette ZR1, that delivers a total of 725 bhp. And if this is not enough, the tuner will also be offering 1000 bhp and 1200 bhp twin turbo V8 engine variants. With a curb weight of 2,685 lbs, the 1200 HP Venom GT will hit a top speed of 275 mph. The supercar features lightweight carbon fiber bodywork and carbon fiber wheels, a programmable traction control system, CFD (computational fluid dynamic) tested bodywork, an active aero system with adjustable rear wing, and an adjustable suspension system. Guinness World Records Strips Bugatti Veyron of Top Speed World Record  Some pretty shocking news came out recently involving the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. According to Driving.co.uk, the Guinness Book of World Records has stripped the Veyron Super Sport of its "fastest production car" record on grounds that it had breached the rules in its record-setting attempt. The record, which has stood for three years, was re-investigated after an enquiry by Driving.co.uk regarding a speed restrictor that Bugatti deactivated to achieve its top speed. After an investigation by the Guinness World Records, the 267.8 mph the Veyron Super Sport was nixed from the record books because the deactivated speed restrictor did not qualify the supercar as a production model. “It has come to the attention of Guinness World Records that there was an oversight in its adjudication of the ‘Fastest production car’ which was set in 2010 by the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport,” said Jaime Strang, PR Director of the Guinness World Records. “As the car’s speed limiter was deactivated, this modification was against the official guidelines. Consequently, the vehicle’s record set at 431.072 km/h is no longer valid. Following this, Guinness World Records is reviewing this category with expert external consultants to ensure our records fairly reflect achievements in this field.” Click past the jump to read more about this story, including Bugatti’s response to having its holy grail record wiped off the record books. Full story
Video: Hennessey Venom GT Breaks Top Speed RecordIt’s official, the Hennessey Venom GT has just become the fastest production car out there. On February 9, 2013, Brian Smith drove this modified Lotus Elise from 0 to 265.7 mph in 2 miles on a runway at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. This makes the Venom GT 7 mph faster than the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, which required over 4 miles to reach its speed limiter, which is set at 258 mph. Still, this speed is a little less than the 270 mph top speed claimed by Hennessey when the Venom GT was initially announced. This is the second record the Venom GT scored this year, as back in January it went from 0 to 186 mph in just 13.63 seconds. Now we are left wondering what amazing results we are going to see when the Venom GT2 hits the market. Click past the jump to read the full list of verified record top speeds throughout automotive history UPDATE 4/8/2013: There is a little confusion here, as to why the Venom is being called the fastest production car when the Veyron holds the "official" Guinness record. The Veyron that broke the record had its 258 mph top speed limiter removed and you cannot purchase the Bugatti in this state. The Venom GT is in its factory-tuned form and the one you purchase can pull of this feat. This article does not refer to the Guinness record. Additionally, Guinness today officially stripped the title from Bugatti, citing the deactivated top-speed limiter. Guinness has yet to validate the Venom’s run, but we’re sure Hennessey is champing at the bit to get Guinness to witness and certify the record. To define a "production" vehicle: Any car produced in mass that is available to the public and road legal. With the Venom GT hitting six units built, it should more than qualify as "mas produced." Full story
Hennessey Releases Video of the Venom’s World-Record 0 to 300 km/h Run
A few days ago, Hennessey announced that its Venom GT supercar scored another impressive record by accelerating to 300 km/h (186 mph) in just 13.63 seconds. Today, the tuner has unveiled the video as a statement for their previous announcement. After all, this result shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone considering the impressive specifications of the Venom GT. It is powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter LS9 V-8 engine, same used in the Corvette ZR1 that delivers up to 1,200 horsepower, depending on the trim level. With a curb weight of 2,685 pounds, the 1,200-horsepower Venom GT will hit a top speed of 275 mph and will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.7 seconds. As expected, such an impressive performance will set you back a nice sum — $950,000. The test was made at Ellington Airport in Houston, Texas, USA on January 10, 2013. Hennessey Venom GT Goes Mental, Hits 186 MPH In 13.63 Seconds
The Hennessey Venom GT has already hit 230 mph in less than 20 seconds. But not even that accomplishment has stopped this slithering serpent from setting another world record. It’s something that we somewhat expect from a supercar like this, but it’s still a little surprising when the car accomplishes it. We know the Venom GT is considered one of the fastest machines on the planet, but still, to find out that it can hit 186 mph in just 13.63 seconds is just completely mental. The American-tuned supercar managed to set that world record time recently, and to no one’s surprise, it probably did it without even breaking a sweat. The record attempt will be featured in a future episode of Drive where we get to see just how bananas the Venom GT went when it set the record in front of the fine folks of the Guinness Book of World Records. We’ll be sure to keep an eye out for this episode of Drive, so when it goes live, we’ll be sharing it with you guys.
Video: Hennessey Venom GT Strikes, Hits 230 MPH In Under 20 Seconds
The Hennessey Venom GT is a kind of supercar that’s unique to its own. Whereas others of its kind are more of the streamlined, the Venom GT is sleek, curvy and downright poisonous. All the characteristics that make the Venom GT the supercar that it is were on full display recently during some acceleration testing. We already know that the Venom GT possesses power — 1,244 horsepower — unlike any other, so it figures that when it does some speed tests, you’re going to get some pretty eye-popping results. But even then, we weren’t prepared for what Hennessey showed us. In the video, we see the Venom GT completely eviscerate a race track, hitting 230 mph in less than 20 seconds. Just to give you some perspective on that gaudy number, the mighty Bugatti Veyron hits 200 mph four seconds slower than it took the Venom GT to hit the 230 mph mark. That’s pretty humbling if you’re the Veyron. But you’re the Venom GT, that’s just the latest proof that this pocket rocket is a road predator in every sense of the word.
2014 Hennessey Venom GT2
There’s a serpent lying in the bushes. It remains out of plain sight, yet it’s unmistakably lethal and poised to strike at any time. Translate that into the automotive parlance and you immediately understand that the car in question is the Hennessey Venom GT. It’s been a little over a year since we last heard anything of relevance surrounding the Venom GT. Sure, it participated in the Goodwood Festival of Speed back in July, but other than that little cameo, the Venom GT has been uncharacteristically out of the spotlight for the better part of the year. That is until now. Better yet, it’s arriving to the party as a Version 2.0. The Hennessey Venom GT2 is coming! In an email exchange with Hennessey chief, John Hennessey, we were told that the Venom GT2 is poised to strike the auto world with a significant power increase over the Venom GT along with some design modifications. According to Hennessey, the carbon- fiber body will still be used, but improvements are in the works for the 2014 GT2. These changes include dihedral hinges on the doors, exposed carbon fiber front air-dam, new hood with the center arch removed, new side-view mirrors, and a double bubble roof that will offer additional headroom. The most significant aesthetic alterations for 2013 are the headlights. No longer will the Venom GT2 carry the Lotus Elise headlights. Instead, Hennessey has designed a completely original headlight setup that, quite frankly, makes the Venom GT2 that much more striking. The other big news surrounding the Venom GT2 is the significant uptick in power it’s poised to receive. This increase is thanks to a new 7.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 powerplant that Hennessey is estimating to produce a staggering 1,500 horsepower. The engine will mate to either a 6-speed Ricardo manual or a new 7-speed paddle shift transmission. Top speed has been projected at an astounding 287 mph, which means that you could very well be reading about the future fastest car in the world. According to Hennessey, the Venom GT2 should debut in late 2013.
2013 Hennessey Venom 1000/700R
Hennessey is truly in a class all their own. After delivering the sheer awesomeness that is the Venom based on the Lotus Elise, the company is gracing us with their keen sense of style and power by preparing another package, this time for the new 2013 SRT Viper. The Viper-based package delivers the same kind of power upgrades as the ones found on the previous package, meaning there are two different power output to choose from. The Venom 700R increases the Viper’s output to an impressive 725 HP, while the Venom 1000 Twin Turbo delivers a mouthwatering 1,120 HP - that’s almost double the standard 640 HP offered by the 2013 Viper. Like with the previous Venom packages, the new 700R and 1000 Twin Turbo kits provide more of a power update than anything else. The exterior updates are limited to a carbon fiber aerodynamic kit, including new spoilers, new splitters, and a very cool rear wing for the 1000 Twin Turbo version. Hit the jump to read more about the 2013 Hennessey Venom 1000/700R. Full story Supercar Frankenstein: Piecing Together the Ultimate Supercar
Every car nut has daydreamed about building a car. Hell, we do on a daily basis, and building one in real life would cost more money than we could ever imagine having in our checking accounts. Let’s suspend reality for a tick here and imagine that someone handed you a blank check and asked for you to build the ultimate supercar. Well, we are going to go over all of the supercars and lay out what pieces from which cars would come together to create the ultimate supercar Frankenstein. Now, there are some rules here. We have to make sure things are feasible. Things like slapping a W-16 Veyron engine into a Lotus Elise will not work, therefore it flat out can’t be done. We’ll review our favorites in each of the three major categories — body and chassis, engine, and transmission — and end it all up by giving you our estimated specifications for our new vehicle. Click past the jump to experience our build. Full story Video: Hennessey Venom GT Spyder driven by Matt Farah for TUNEDAfter taking a break for a few months, the TUNED series on the Drive YouTube channel was recently renewed for a second series. In order to kick off the new show with a bang, Matt Farah recently got his hands on the very first Hennessey Venom GT Spyder produced, owned by none other than Steven Tyler! With only six Venom GT’s having been produced thus far, and with this being the very first convertible variant, it’s very rare that anyone would be allowed to drive such a car. Take into consideration that this is owned by the lead singer of Aerosmith, and it makes the following review all the more special. As the following video isn’t a comparison of the Venom GT Spyder to any of its competitors, we’ll give you a little insight into Farah’s response to the car. Farah initially notes that the Venom GT Spyder actually rides better than the Lotus Elise for which it’s based on and believes that the extended wheel base and extra rigidity may be responsible for those improvements. Furthermore, he confirms that it’s unquestionably the most exclusive and fastest car he’s ever driven and based on its top of the range specifications, we’re not surprised. In top spec, the Venom GT Spyder utilizes the same twin-turbocharged Chevrolet-sourced V8 engine as its coupe sibling, which can pump out 1244 horsepower at 6,500rpm and 1,155 lb-ft of torque at just 4,200 rpm. When mated to the same Ricardo 6-speed transmission as found in the Ford GT, the Venom GT Spyder is said to sprint to 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds, before reaching 200 mph in 15.9 seconds. Top speed is claimed to be around 270mph. Video: Hennessey Venom GT shooting flames at 2011 Goodwood Festival of SpeedA notable absentee from the recently concluded 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed was Hennessey. The American supercar manufacturer and tuner debuted the incredible Venom GT at the show in 2011, and prior to the conclusion of this year’s event, company founder, John Hennessey was nice enough to post an awesome video capturing one of the Venom’s many sprints up the famous hill climb. With a GoPro Hero camera mounted to the rear-end of the vehicle, Hennessey managed to capture the car’s incredible exhaust note in all its beauty. If you listen closely, you’ll hear the incredible sounds of the twin-turbochargers spooling up when the throttle is applied. However, the swan-song of this video comes in the final seconds where the Venom GT shoots some impressive flames after the hillclimb helping to exemplify just how mean this supercar is. Considering the Venom GT can deliver 1200bhp in top tune, it’s little surprise that the car spits flames as easy as this one. This incredible peak horsepower output is achieved thanks to a Corvette ZR1 sourced V8 engine fitted with two turbochargers. As a result, the Venom GT is said to sprint to 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds and Hennessey quotes a top speed of 275 mph.
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