First Impression: Hennessey Venom GT

John Hennessey is a mad genius.  In his shop in Sealy, Texas, he will take a Ford GT, add two turbo chargers to an already supercharged engine, and turn it into the Hennessey Ford GT 1000.  He will also take a Dodge Viper and tweak the engine to produce 1000 hp and calls it the Hennessey Viper Venom.  His newest project involves modifying a Lotus Exige and putting a monster 6.2L Corvette engine and adding two turbo chargers to the engine.  His creation is called the Hennessey Venom GT.

Hennessey revealed the Venom GT at the December edition of Cars and Coffee of Houston.  This was the main attraction at the event.  This car got more attention than any other car at the event.  The Venom GT got more attention than the Rossion Q1, Ariel Atom, Tesla Roadster, a Hennessey Ford GT 1000, and several Ferraris, Cobras, and Lambos.  There was a constant crowd around the Venom GT.

Hennessey took a Lotus Exige, added a 6.2L LS9 supercharged V8 engine found in the Corvette ZR1, added two turbochargers, and added a 6-speed transmission.  He will have 3 engines, one producing 750 hp, another producing 1000 hp, and the top of line engine producing 1200 hp and 1155 lb-ft of torque.  The Car has a curb weight of 2685 lbs.  With the light-weight of the car and the power of the engine, the Hennessey Venom GT goes from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, reaching a top speed of 267 mph.  Prices start at $600,000, a bargain compared to the $1.9 million Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.  The Venom GT has the same performance as the Veyron Super Sport, but at a fraction of the price.

Hennessey brought his Venom GT to Jay Leno's Garage.  The video can be seen at www.jaylenosgarage.com. Videos of the car can be seen on Youtube, including the dyno test. 

Final Thoughts:  Great Car.  Unlike the Volt, the Venom GT will live up to its expectation and compete with the other high performance vehicles.  It has great performance for its price.  Those lucky enough to get 1 of the 29 Venom GTs will get a very fast car.

CarJunkie
Photo taken from a camera phone