Hennessey Venom F5 Set to Become World’s Fastest Road-Car
Hennessey declares war on Koenigsegg with a 301 mph hypercar.
The Hennessey Venom F5, aptly named after an F5 tornado – the fastest and most destructive on the Fujita scale reaching speeds of over 300 mph – seeks to leave in its wake a host of supercars usurped from their thrones and in a state of devastation. The only difference it seems, between the car and its name sake, is that only 24 will exist.
The high-performance sports car was revealed at the 2017 SEMA Show in Vegas, along with its projected top speed of 301 mph. A remarkable claim by any measure, but even more so as it’s the company’s first vehicle to be completely developed and constructed in-house. Cast doubt if you want, but remember that John Hennessey, the company’s founder, is well known for delivering good on promises. After all, the Hennessey Venom GT managed to clock in at 270.49mph at the Kennedy Space Center.
The Texas-based tuning company began developing their ‘exceptionally American’ F5 about four years ago with Bugatti in the crosshair, but the production-car speed record has since been scooped up by Koenigsegg with a 277.9mph run in the Agera RS. Not bad for a car that was probably fresh out of a flat-packed box. The Texans thought they had it in the bag when it was war with Germans, but now they face the delicious wrath of Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam.
The F5 will undergo speed trials once the first orders for customer cars are filled, which may be a while, as production won’t begin for another two years at least. If you still doubt the claims, though, take a look at the specs: a 7.4-litre aluminium V8, 1600 bhp, 1300lb•ft of torque, and a drag coefficient of just 0.33. Top speed aside, the F5 is projected to do 0-249 mph in under 30 seconds. If that doesn’t raise eyebrows, the G-forces will.
It will go for about $1.6 million, so if you start saving now, and sell all the unnecessary junk: children, kidneys, house… you might be able to afford a tyre, albeit one that can roll at 134 metres per second. That’s a damn cool tyre. Buy the tyre.
Marc Ward
