How fast is fast enough? When you’re boutique carmaker Hennessey Performance of Sealy, Texas, and you’re trying to retain the top-speed record for production cars, even 270.49 mph isn’t fast enough. Hence, Hennessey has just announced a successor to the record-holding 1244-hp Venom GT called the Venom F5, which the company projects could hit an unfathomable 290 mph.
Tagged with an alphanumeric suffix that denotes the most powerful tornadoes on the Fujita scale, the Venom F5 uses the same basic bones as the Venom GT, according to a Hennessey insider, but ditches the Lotus-derived styling in favor of the all-new bodywork seen in these renderings. The hike in top speed is expected to come from improved aerodynamics and a power boost for the F5′s twin-turbocharged V-8, which could possibly exceed 1400 horsepower, courtesy of larger turbos and upgraded fuel and intercooler systems.
New technologies include GPS-based stability- and traction-control systems that “will help to channel the F5’s immense power and provide an increased margin of safety,” and a single-clutch paddle-shifted automated transmission. A traditional manual transmission will be available “for purists,” says Hennessey. The company also estimates that curb weight may rise by about 120 pounds from the current model’s feathery 2750-pound figure but says that it is “highly probable” that the F5 will beat the GT’s zero-to-200-mph acceleration time of 14.51 seconds, says Hennessey.
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Will it actually hit 290? Looks like we will have to wait until at least next year or 2016 to find out. Hennessey says it will show the Venom F5 in the metal next year and plans to sell a least 30 Venom F5s at a price somewhat higher than the $1.2 million it requests for the Venom GT. The first customer deliveries are planned for late 2016, which could give something else—ahem, Bugatti Veyron successor—time to hit 290 in the meantime. Break out the popcorn, because this will be interesting to watch.
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