Mated to the engine is a six-speed manual transmission, or a single-clutch paddle-shift transmission. If you are wondering why Hennessey opted for a single-clutch and not a double-clutch, it’s because the single offers a lighter weight and increased durability.

The body of the Venom F5 is wrapped around “a developed version of the mutated Lotus Exige frame that underpins the Venom GT.”

What’s more, Hennessey has added a new GPS-based traction control system that can be calibrated for specific racetracks, including the Nurburgring.

The article states that the Hennessey Venom F5 will be out next year, with customers receiving their models in 2016. It also notes that the price point will be more than the Venom GT’s $1.2 million.

(Source: Top Gear)

1,600bhp V8 twin-turbo Texan terror is the Bugatti Chiron’s worst nightmare

The battle for the 300mph road-car prize just got real. Ladies and gentlemen, John Hennessey is – once again – going into bat against Bugatti for the title of the world’s fastest car with this: the 1,600bhp Venom F5. Yes, that’s correct: 300mph.

Not that John’s ever lost the title of the world’s fastest car, that is. The Not-Guinness-Certified-But-Still-Chuffing-Quick 1,244bhp, 270.49mph Hennessey Venom GT is still, technically, the fastest car in the world. Just in one direction.

Bugatti of course, has built a faster car called the Chiron. And is planning a top speed run in 2018. So, not wanting to be Top Trumped, Hennessey is rearming with the F5 to futureproof his pride; a car he’s spent some four years perfecting.

Named after a particularly destructive breed of tornado (not the refresh button on your keyboard), it’s the latest road-legal land rocket to conform to Hennessey’s ‘Minimal Maximus’ philosophy (that’s Texan Latin for big power and lightweight), just with more aero, more tech and, of course, even more power.

Compared with its predecessor, the F5 has made huge advances in aerodynamics – largely from not having to put a Lotus through a mangle. Thanks to being a clean-sheet design - it’s a bespoke, built-from-the-ground-up, carbon-bodied hypercar with a carbon tub - the F5 has a much sleeker front, sculpted and functional rear (to dissipate a lot of heat), trick rear diffuser and completely flat floor that makes it a lot slipperier and pointier than its predecessor.

In fact, everything on the F5 has been vacuum-packed into a silhouette with a drag coefficient of 0.33Cd. The Venom GT had a drag factor of 0.44Cd – meaning it’d need 2,500bhp to hit 300mph. The F5 needs less. But still a lot. 1,600bhp, just so you’re clear.

It all comes from a bespoke 7.4-litre aluminium V8 with two hefty turbos grafted on. Chiron-esque sequential quad-turbos were discussed, but binned for being too heavy. Same story for hybrid powertrains.

“I’m a purist,” Hennessey tells us. “I like simple, elegant functionality, and that’s not a knock against hybrids, but they’re for the big OEMs to do.”

Sitting mid-ship, that monstrous engine sends all its power and 1,300lb ft of torque to two very fat, very sticky rear wheels via a seven-speed single-clutch paddle-shift gearbox. If you want a real rodeo, you can spec a manual gearbox, but we’re told that you’ll be fighting with trick GPS-based traction control all the way up to 140mph regardless – so it might be best to have both hands on the steering wheel.

Incorporating active aerodynamics, in Vmax mode, the F5 drops its rear wing and deploys some flaps to plug ducts above the jutting chin spoiler to improve its aero. And the numbers predicted when in maximum attack are monstrous; 0–186mph in under 10secs (that’s quicker than Lewis Hamilton’s F1 car), 0–249mph in under 20secs and a top speed of 301mph. Against the competition? Well, It takes the Chiron 32.6secs to hit 249mph (400kph). The Koenigsegg Agera RS does the same sprint in 26.88secs. The Venom GT did it in 23.6secs. The F5? We’ll, that’s predicted to go sub-20secs. Yowch.

But even with chunky Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, and a significant weight advantage (1,360kg), Hennessey isn’t concerned with getting involved with this new 0–249mph–0 battle. “I think that’s a number that the guys from Bugatti and Koenigsegg came up with because they couldn’t beat our top speed number.” Meow.

Now, let’s talk tyres. They’re the limiting factor when running at high-speed because the stress loads they’re subjected to is immense. The Veyron had famously expensive (a set of four tyres cost £23,500) Michelin PAX run-flats to go silly fast, but the Chiron has reverted to cheaper, but specially developed Pilot Cup 2 tyres. Hennessey will also use these Michelins (unless another manufacturer wants to make a bespoke tyre) but believes, because the F5 is a lot lighter than Chiron, they’re good for above and beyond 280mph. Possibly 300mph.

“Tyres are a limiting factor for Bugatti,” John says. “But I don’t believe they’re a limiting factor for us. When we do our math, we know that we are not overloading them. We’re not even close to the load specification of the tyres at our speeds.”

Currently, there’s a debate as to how exactly you’ll get in the F5 (via either gullwing, or dihedral doors), but once you are in the cabin, you’re greeted by a much more luxurious environment than the old GT. Using plenty of leather, carbon fibre, Alcantara and an Apple iPad interface, it’s positively plush. And roomy. So roomy in fact, it’ll comfortably house a 6ft 6in NFL player. And that’s not spurious marketing spiel, but a fact – as an NFL player has indeed ordered one. So, he has to fit.

But where Chirons are constructed in the “Atelier”, an automotive art gallery-cum-workshop in Molsheim, France, John’s workshop in Sealy, Texas is where all 24 cars will be produced for a starting price of $1.6 million. However, it won’t be first come, first serve. Instead, you’ll have to apply to be an owner of a car, then John will handpick you as worthy of his creation, and you’ll work your way to boot camp where you can option your car with up to $600k of additional goodies. It’ll then be built sometime in the next three years but first deliveries will start at the beginning of 2019.

You can see the F5 with your own eyes at the SEMA show currently going on in Las Vegas, but two prototypes will begin pounding up and down Texas next year. When a ballsy individual is set to strap themselves into the F5 to attempt the triple ton is still unknown. But, for now, it’s theoretically possible, and John has an extremely annoying habit of hitting the numbers. Let the high-speed games begin…

TG chats to John Hennessey about the Agera's 277mph heroics... and the future

Last weekend, a Koenigsegg Agera RS went to a very straight stretch of road in Nevada, pointed its nose at the horizon and let rip. Once it’d done that, it spun around and did the same again.

The result of these two runs was an average speed of 277.87mph, making it the fastest production car in the world. It’s a feat that topples the previous Vmax record held by John Hennessey ever since his Venom GT hit 270.49mph at the Kennedy Space Center in 2014. And it also piles pressure onto the Bugatti Chiron’s broad shoulders to deliver a big number…

Having lost his top speed crown to the Swedes, we spoke to John Hennessey to get his thoughts on the new star in this incredible top speed soap opera that’s starting to develop.

“Those guys crushed our number and I think it’s great,” he told TG. “Christian did it right. He just played it cool and built a dedicated car to smoke everybody. He laid the hammer down.”

Having first heard about the rumblings of a top speed run a few weeks previously, it all got very real for John when a friend – who was present in Nevada at Koenigsegg’s run – started texting speeds through to him.

“My first thought was ‘did they run both directions?’, because that’s a question everybody asks us. Then I wondered if they’d brought proper Racelogic VBOX equipment to validate the data. I later heard that they did. So once I saw the official news come out on Instagram and then YouTube, I looked at it and I thought they did it right. And fair play to them.”

It was actually the same guy from Racelogic who previously verified John’s Venom GT records, so he’s in no doubt that the numbers are legit.

This does open up the debate about a common validation for these top speed records. Follow Guinness’ stringent rules for a page in their thick, shiny book like Bugatti did? Or just go very quickly and get a trusted independent to verify the speeds?

“I think Guinness is irrelevant,” says John. “They’re a business. They’ve certified records for us, but does Guinness need to certify a record for yards rushing or number of touchdown passes made in the NFL? No. I don’t think that you need to have Guinness there to make a number official.”

But, importantly, does John think he can better Koenigsegg’s speed? Consider the Agera’s one-way pass of 285mph, which is crazy, crazy fast…

“Could we pull a Venom GT out of the mothball and take it out and challenge that? Possibly,” he contends. “But there’s no real reason to do it. When we ran 270 at NASA it wasn’t our top speed, we just ran out of road.

“I’m not worried about it [Koenigsegg’s speed], I’m excited and motivated. I’ve been waiting almost four years for somebody to better the record. And once you have more players that are playing in the top speed game, then you have more relevance.

“It all puts pressure on Bugatti, to step up and deliver the number that everybody expects them to do. Then we’ll let those guys duke it out for a little while, then, once we figure out which one of those guys [Koenigsegg and Bugatti] is going the fastest, then we’ll take the F5 out and lay down a number.”

Yet, even though Koenigsegg set five speed records over the weekend (highest top speed for a production vehicle, 0-400-0 km/h, flying kilometre on a public road, flying mile on a public road and highest speed achieved on a public road) John made it very clear that he still has one over Christian.

“Until Koenigsegg rips the roof off the Agera, we’ve still got that top speed record (265.6 mph). So let’s see what they’ve got.”

With three very different companies, and three very different philosophies striving for one target in three different engineering packages, the fight to be the fastest car on the planet has never been more exciting.

Is the race to 300mph more relevant than ever? Let us know below.

UPDATE: take a look inside the cabin of the 1,600bhp V8 twin-turbo Texan terror

Twin-turbo hypercar guns for Vmax record and sub-seven-min ‘Ring lap

Good news, people of the Internet. John Hennessey has confirmed to TopGear.com that his upcoming Venom F5 hypercar will have a “completely bespoke, 8.0-litre twin-turbo V8” with no less than 1,600bhp.

He also admitted he’s considering adding another couple of turbos – because you can never have too many turbos – and that the decision will be made before this year’s Pebble Beach Concours in August. We can’t wait.

John also told us he’s going to have another crack at the outright top-speed record with the F5. “You’ve got Koenigsegg in first position now. Bugatti is not going to take it sitting down, so they’re gonna jump back in the game,” he says, “but I think there’s a squabble somewhere in the 280s, and about the time dust settles from those guys slapping each other about then we’ll turn up”.

And where could Hennessey – a company that doesn’t have a five-mile long test track of its own – hope to set such a record? “When the Koenigsegg news got out, a friend of mine who used to work for the State of Texas - who helped us with our road runs - sent me an email, and said ‘when you’re ready to go get your record back, we’ll find a road in Texas for you’.

“If nothing else we’ll go back to the same road Koenigsegg went to in Nevada. If some guy from Sweden can come over and run a road in Nevada, I think a guy from America could probably do the same thing!”

But Hennessey is keen to stress the car won’t be just a “straight line missile”.

“We’re looking to build a car that is very comfortable on the road, and delivers unbelievable straight-line performance,” he says. “If we wanted to take it to the Nordschliefe and put a proper driver in it – and we plan to test at the Nurburgring – I’d like the F5 to have the credentials of a sub-seven-minute lap time.

“Could we build a high-downforce version with the massive splitter and massive wing and lots of downforce? Maybe we’ll do that later. For now, [the F5 is] a proper road car that can be driven at crazy speeds in a straight line but still go around turns and stop.”

Last time we talked to John – in November ’17 – he told us he’s planning on building 24 cars at his workshop in Sealy, Texas, and that the asking price will be in the region of $1.6million. To date, he’s already had 12 orders placed.

Reckon Koenigsegg has anything to worry about?

It’s been over nine months since Hennessey first revealed the Venom F5 in concept form at SEMA. That’d be enough time to make a new human life, and it’s apparently been time enough for the Texas tuner to finalize the specifications on the potentially record-breaking hypercar.

Motor Authority reports that John Hennessey and company will reveal further – maybe even final – specifications on the Venom F5 in Monterey this month. And we’re looking forward to seeing what they’ve worked out.

The successor to the (loosely) Lotus-based Venom GT, the new F5 draws its name not from the 1960s fighter jet, but from the top classification of tornado ratings – reserved for those spinning from 260 to 318 miles per hour (418-512 km/h). That bodes well for the all-American hypercar that aims to crack the 300-mph (483 km/h) barrier.

To get there, Hennessey’s developed a 7.4-liter twin-turbo V8 that’s expected to grow to 8.0 liters and maybe even adopt quadruple turbochargers (like a Bugatti). It’s slated to deliver upwards of 1,600 horsepower (1,193 kW) and 1,300 lb-ft (1,763 Nm) of torque. Brembo is providing the brakes, Pennzoil and Shell the lubricants, and Michelin its Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires – only the rear of which will be driven – to potentially nab a new Nürburgring lap record in addition to the top-speed crown it aims to steal from Koenigsegg, which clocked a 278-mph run in Nevada around the same time (and in the same state) that Hennessey revealed the Venom F5 concept.

We’ll have to wait to see the final specifications, but we’re hoping they’ll all be revealed in full during Monterey Car Week that kicks off just four days from now.

The folksy, friendly, wily Texan who's hoping to set a significantly higher top speed record for a production car unveiled his 1,600-hp, 1,300-lb-ft twin-turbocharged 7.6-liter pushrod V-8 at The Quail show during Monterey Car Week. We caught up with him after the show to get a bit more detail on his entirely bespoke and ever-so-American engine.

Our very first question was "why pushrods?" Of course Hennessey has loads of experience with this engine type, specializing as he does in extracting vastly more power out of pushrod V-8 Small Blocks and V-10 Viper engines. There's also no more dense way to package power in terms of an engine's exterior dimensions. And with the power peak at a lofty 7,200 rpm and an 8,000-rpm redline, this retro valvetrain has been proving itself to be well up to the task of hypercar motivation during more than a year of dynamometer testing.

About that billet block—this is the way real racers do engine blocks. The metallurgy of a forged aluminum block typically boosts tensile strength (how hard it resists being pulled apart) by 30 percent or more and yield strength (the force at which it comes apart) by as much as double that percentage relative to a similar cast aluminum block. Weight typically drops a bit as well. Another benefit—the cylinders tend to stay more perfectly round in a machined block, reducing ring friction (note that the Venom F5 engine uses pressed in steel sleeves as well). The big downside is cost and the fact that it takes bloody hell forever to machine a billet block into a form that's ready for coolant, lubrication, and combustion. "Days, not hours," was Hennessey's rough estimate of total computer-numerical-control (CNC) machining time invested in a single Venom F5 block. Please note that at least a few minutes of that time are frittered away engraving the Hennessey logo on the sides of the block and F5 on the front.

For now the cylinder heads are cast, but John doesn't rule out a switch to machined billet for the heads as well. He claims his two-valve setup flows 400 cubic feet per minute of air. And of course there are those two Precision Turbo snails force feeding the engine with 24 psi of boost. That boost is generated with help from 76mm turbine wheels and 77mm billet machined compressor wheels running on ball bearings. The turbo headers are made of stainless steel.

Oh, and as for that "production car" stipulation—construction of 24 Venom F5 hypercars is planned and 15 have reportedly been pre-sold. Scrape together your $1.6 million and get your order in fast!

Hennessey made a splash at Pebble Beach with its twin-turbocharged, monster of a 7.6-liter engine. Destined for duty in the Venom F5, the motor – which has been in manufacturing limbo for nearly five years – finally fulfilled Hennessey's promise of ridiculous power in its latest and greatest hypercar. But 1,600 horsepower (1,193-kilowatts) is just a jumping off point, says the company's CEO.

The motor was tested "at over 2,000 horsepower," said John Hennessey in an interview with Top Gear. "Do we plan to deliver that power level to our clients? No, but we'll deliver as much power as we need to break 300 miles per hour," he admitted.

The supercar – which also made an appearance on the west coast – will be good for 1,600-hp (1,193-kW) and 1,300 pound-feet (1,762 Newton-meters) of torque when it hits the road sometime in 2019. The goal, as noted, is to hit 300 mph (482 kilometers per hour). The company is planning a top speed run sometime in 2019.

Unlike the outgoing Venom – which was essentially a modified Lotus with a fancy body kit – the new Venom will be built entirely from the ground up. A carbon fiber body will wrap around a tubular steel chassis, and the entire thing will tip the scales at just 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms).

Unfortunately, we won't see the Venom F5 on the road for some time. Hennessey said that 15 of the 24 build slots have already been accounted for, with a limited production run scheduled for sometime in 2019. The cost for this powerful machine? A cool $1.6 million.

The race to 300 mph is officially on. Hennessey Performance Engineering plans to begin testing an F5 Venom prototype in 2019, and hopes to run high-speed validation testing by the end of 2019. The 300-mph mark isn't the goal; it's just the first step.

In an interview with Motor Authority, company founder and CEO John Hennessey said, "We believe our car is capable of going well beyond 300 mph."

What will enable the F5 Venom to achieve such a lofty goal?

The F5 Venom will be slippery (for a supercar) with a drag coefficient of 0.33. A 7.6-liter twin-turbo V-8 will blast it toward the 300-mph barrier. The engine is said to be capable of 1,600 horsepower and 1,300 pound-feet of torque, but Hennessey says it might not even require that much power to hit the mark.

"Currently our CFD testing and our engineers tell us we need about 1,520 horsepower to break 300," Hennessey explained. The engine has been tested to more than 2,000 horsepower, but there are no plans to go that far any time soon.

Hennessey confirmed to Motor Authority that customer cars will be delivered with the same final power output rating as the record car, whatever that might be.

Venues for testing and the record-attempt are already on Hennessey's mind. The Shuttle Landing Facility in Brevard County, Florida, where NASA landed space shuttles, is 3.2 miles long, and it's where Hennessey set its previous speed record with the Venom GT in 2014. But it took 2.2 to 2.3 miles of acceleration to hit 270.49 mph, and the last mile or so was saved for braking. It's going to take a longer stretch of pavement to break 300 mph.

Testing at NASA's facility isn't out of the question. Hennessey believes that's enough room to run in the high 270s or low 280s.

The most likely scenario is shutting down a highway in Nevada, which is what Koenigsegg did for its record run, or Texas.

Hitting the 300-mph mark would obliterate the existing record, but that's just the beginning for Hennessey. "I’d like to run 500 kph. Which is 311 and change," he said. It's 310.68 mph.

Running that number might require some sort of special edition of the F5 Venom or a version with a lower-drag aerodynamic package than the current car. "After we break 300 we’ll see how much faster we can go," Hennessey teased.

Only 24 F5 Venoms are slotted for production, and half will be sold to U.S. buyers while the other half live their best life abroad. Allocations for the U.S. are sold out with a waiting list, but only five international orders have been placed.

A convertible model is also a possibility, but it has not been given the green light yet.

Hennessey has his eye on other performance figures as well. "Ultimately, if Dodge can make a 4,000-pound Demon go 0-60 in 2.3 seconds, I feel pretty good that we’ll have a tire on the F5 at some point that will be running in the high 1-second range, 1.8, 1.9 second range when that time comes," Hennessey said.

The American boutique supercar firm SSC has stepped into the top-speed game with its new 1,750-horsepower Tuatara. Jerod Shelby, CEO of SSC North America said the Tuatara's the only one with a "legitimate shot" at cracking 300 mph.

Hennessey's response? "The bullshit stops when the green flag drops."

Hennessey Performance recently confirmed that its upcoming 300mph+ hypercar - the Venom F5 - will produce 1,817bhp. That is an extraordinary amount of horsepower.

What Hennessey also confirmed is that this engine, while sat on a dyno undergoing some light cardiovascular exercise, sounds absolutely terrifying. Opening the taps on this might just open up the seal that releases the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

It’s even nicknamed ‘Fury’, for goodness sake, and revs to some 8,000rpm. There’s 1,193lb ft of torque on offer too, generated from a Very Highly Modified LS V8, bored out to 6.6-litres. To this, a pair of turbos with 3D-printed titanium compressor housings blow as much as any earthly turbo can blow.

Naturally there are some very expensive materials involved in producing a) that power, and b) that noise. Aluminium pistons. Forged steel connecting rods. A steel crank. A forged steel block. Aluminium heads. The list goes on.

So we’ll cap it there. Turn it up, and welcome the apocalypse. Come on in, the water’s warm.

You’re looking at the first production prototype of the Hennessey Venom F5 – the long-awaited 300mph+ all-American hypercar, and spoiler alert… it doesn’t disappoint. Let’s start with the F5 name, derived from the Fujita tornado intensity scale, F5 being the most, er, intense with wind speeds of up to 318mph - a number that will come into sharp focus in few paragraph’s time.

Ready for some numbers? Warning, you might want to give your brain a hard reboot before taking this lot in. The F5’s engine is a 6.6-litre twin-turbo V8 called Fury, that produces over 1,792bhp at 8,000rpm and 1,192lb ft of torque at 5,000rpm making it, for now at least, the most powerful road car engine in the world. Thanks to its bespoke carbon tub, carbon panels and not a lot else it weighs 1,360kg dry, just 30kg more than a Ferrari F8 Tributo… and yet it has over 1,000bhp more. Power to weight ratio is 1,298hp-per-tonne. I’ll let that one marinade for a moment.

Although based on GM’s classic LS pushrod V8, everything from the dry sump, to the cast-iron block, titanium intake valves, dustbin-lid turbos, sprinkler-sized fuel injectors (two per cylinder) and engine management system is bespoke and adapted from the world of drag racing, which isn’t surprising when you’re producing as much power as seven and a half Golf GTIs. The gearbox is a seven-speed single clutch semi-auto with paddle shifts, although given the unholy grunt-to-grip ratio, available power is carefully managed, especially in the first four gears, otherwise you’d be spinning your tyres all the way to 150mph and beyond.

Early simulations predict a modest 0-62mph time of 2.6 seconds, followed by fireworks: 0-124mph in 4.7s and 0-250mph in 15.5s. That last figure? More than twice as fast as a Bugatti Chiron, and over seven secs quicker than a Koenigsegg Regera – the current 0-250-0mph champ. Target top speed is 311mph (500kmh), the theoretical top speed (taking into account the 8,500rpm limiter and gear ratios) is around 340mph, although the true, drag-limited top speed lies somewhere between those two numbers. It’ll cost £1.9m, only 24 will be built starting from next year and – based on starting and idling the engine in the studio until my eardrums were buzzing and eyes watering uncontrollably – it’ll sound like the inside of an avalanche.

For anyone not familiar with John Hennessey he’s the man who’s spent 30 years modifying trucks, muscle cars and supercars to bursting point, culminating in the Lotus Exige based Venom GT which grabbed the world’s fastest car gong back in 2014 with a 270.49mph run. “The idea of the F5 came along after the Venom GT had achieved a level of success, but we knew we wouldn’t get the credit we deserved until we built our own car,” John explains. “We didn’t want a one-hit top speed wonder, we wanted a car with a proper amount of balance and downforce at 300mph, but one that could still be driven on a B-road in the UK, or a circuit.”

We’ll see about that, but the fundamentals appear right. The tub weighs just 86kg and surpasses the Chiron for torsional rigidity. The dampers are manually, not electronically, adjustable to save weight, the brakes are Brembo carbon ceramics, the wheels are forged aluminium (staggered, so 19s at the front, 20s at the back) and the tyres aren’t bespoke unicorns, they’re off-the-shelf Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s. Even so, John is confident they’ll hold up at 300mph and beyond.

“We will be able to measure each tyre as the car goes past 200, 250 and starts inching towards 300mph. We will know the load, temperature and pressure at each corner, if anywhere along the way we don’t feel the car should go beyond a certain point we may speed limit the car. But we don’t want to do that, we don’t intend to do that.” And the F5’s first high-speed test is already set for Spring 2021 on the shuttle landing strip at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“Whatever car we do the testing with, there will be nothing special about it; the power delivery, the calibration, the tyres, the setting will be exactly the same as for all 24 customer cars. That runway from end to end is 3.2-miles long, so we can run on wide-open throttle for 2.2 miles, then we need that final mile to slow down. What speeds can we hit in that distance? It might run in the realm of 300mph, maybe a little below, maybe a little above.” Not bad, bearing in mind that it’s working in roughly half the distance the Bugatti Super Sport 300+ had at Ehra-Lessien for its 304.77mph record in 2019. Back to John: “What about 500kmh? We’ll need to find a public road somewhere, ideally I’d like to do it here in Texas.”

To keep drag to a minimum, but maintain enough stability to stay the right way up at these stratospheric speeds, you’ll notice there’s no ironing board rear wing or jutting front spoiler. However, if downforce is more your thing, Hennessey will sell you both of those to bolt on as part of a track pack. Personally? I’d keep it clean, slippery, the way it was intended. It’s not like there’s zero scope for peacocking. Around the back you can show off your toothy diffuser, machined carbon-fibre mesh and quad stainless steel exhausts surrounded by a panel sprayed in a heat-resistant ceramic coating – the same stuff used to line the inside of guns. You can take the boy out of Texas…

Swing open the butterfly doors, nod in appreciation at the slimline sills and your surprisingly graceful entry then marvel at an interior that’s, actually, brilliantly thought out. The chopped steering wheel and target graphics on the instrument cluster are obvious fighter references “because at 500kmh you’re less of a driver, more of a pilot”, apparently, but in fact losing the top of the wheel means a perfect view straight ahead.

The seats are skeletal carbon, layered with just enough padded leather to make road trips feasible – if you can cram your pants and toothbrushes behind the seats, into the glovebox in the passenger footwell, or into one of the many cubby holes carved into the carbon sills and central spine. There’s an immensely satisfying snap to the paddles, a central screen for all your Apple CarPlay/Android Auto needs, a physical dial for the air-con and a handful of switches on the centre console, The rest (headlights, wipers, engine start, driving modes) are all crammed onto the wheel in front of your face.

Three of those five modes - Wet, Sport, Track – do what you’d expect, gradually cranking up/loosening off the ESC, ABS and power delivery, while the other two are a bit more involved. Drag is about taming the power to get the best launch off the line, but also using the hydraulic nose lift system to tip the weight back and improve traction at the rear. F5 Vmax will be the only mode where the full 1,792bhp is unleashed… but to unlock it you’ll need to compete a day of driver training with Hennessey. “Just pitching owners the keys would be irresponsible,” says John, smiling.

So the Venom F5 is about as delicate as a wrecking ball to the face, and we’ll have to drive it before we can tell you whether it moves the game on in ways other than that monumental top speed, but as an expression of taking the mid-engine supercar to previously unimaginable places, as a perfect encapsulation of an excess all areas approach, it looks untouchable. Only in America…

The Hennessey Venom F5 has gone. Not over 300mph – that’s still to come – but all 24 twin-turbo V8 hypercars have been sold, boss John Hennessey told TopGear.com.

A pair of production Venom F5s were on display at Monterey Car Week in California (at The Quail and Pebble Beach Concours) that helped push the final few cars remaining into the reach of its no doubt enthusiastic owners.

“Selling out is just the beginning of the F5 journey for us, our customers and our fans,” said Hennessey. “Production has already begun, with customer deliveries starting this year and continuing through 2023.

“That’s not all,” he added, “as we’ve saved a few more surprises for the F5, including the Track Pack enhancements, plus something else that’s literally out of this world.” Is Hennessey going full Fast and Furious 9 and sending his car into space? Only time will tell.

For now, we can tell you that each owner spent $2.1m securing one of the 24 Venom F5s scheduled for production. Each one carries a 6.6-litre unit the team have nicknamed ‘Fury’. It’s a heavily modified LS V8, bored out to 6.6-litres and packing a pair of turbos with 3D-printed titanium compressor housings. We’re told the engine's internals are all lightweight too.

Total power rests at 1,792bhp and 1,193lb ft of torque, it redlines at 8,000rpm, and – according to Hennessey – is “the most furious engine we have ever built”. Want to hear what it sounds like? Check out the dyno testing video below.

Hennessey is aiming for something more than 311mph (500kmh). Which puts it ahead of some other Really Fast Things. Reckon this’ll be the next top speed poster car?

Just about everyone knows the whole point behind the Hennessey Venom F5 is to smash the 300-mph barrier. The American-born hypercar is gradually getting there, after hitting 200 mph (322 km/h) during aerodynamic validation testing in 2021 and 250 mph (402 km/h) back in January during high-speed testing. The airbag-less machine is back, and this time around, it managed to hit 271.6 mph (437.1 km/h).

The run took place in February at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds in Florida where Hennessey took the Venom F5 to conduct final calibrations for the steering, braking, engine, and aerodynamics. In other words, the company's goal wasn't to unlock a higher speed compared to previous tests. Nevertheless, it did manage to reach 271.6 mph (437.1 km/h).

Don't expect another high-speed run anytime soon as company founder John Hennessey says the focus is now on making cars. If everything goes according to the plan, more than 12 Venom F5s could be delivered this year. The top brass at the Texas-based tuner says high-speed testing will likely be resumed later in 2022 when we're hoping the 1,817-horsepower V8 will enable the hypercar to approach the 300-mph mark.

Long sold out at $2.1 million a pop, the Venom F5 is limited to only 24 units and comes exclusively with a single-clutch, semi-automatic transmission with paddle shifters. The twin-turbo beast has been advertised with a top speed of more than 311 mph (500 km/h), but we'll believe it when we'll see it. 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) is said to take 2.6 seconds, although more impressive is the quoted 0-249 mph (0-400 km/h) run in just 15.5 seconds.

Hennessey is not the only one chasing speed records as SSC North America wants to hit 300 mph with the Tuatara as well. Hopefully, Koenigsegg wants a piece of the action as well with its Jesko Absolut. As for Bugatti, it's no longer interested in going this fast after hitting 304.77 mph with a prototype of the unrestricted Chiron Super Sport 300+. It wasn't the average velocity of a two-way run as needed to qualify for an official record, but an impressive accomplishment nonetheless.

Hennessey, the Texas-based hypercar manufacturer, and high-performance vehicle creator, has unveiled a new, lighter-weight, track-focused version of the Hennessey Venom F5 that has been comprehensively re-engineered for increased agility, uncompromised handling, and high downforce. The new Venom F5 Revolution Coupe is an apex predator on a racing circuit - it is the most powerful and visceral pure-combustion hypercar in the world.

The Venom F5 Revolution Coupe is based on the Hennessey Venom F5 Coupe - the two share nearly identical DNA - yet distinguishing the Revolution Coupe from its sibling are its comprehensively reworked aerodynamics, suspension, engine cooling, and digital telemetry. The engineering team also focused on reducing mass. Thanks to a systematic focus on weight reduction, the race-honed model tips the scales below 3,000 pounds - it is the lightest Venom F5 model.

Honed by Chief Engineer John 'Heinrocket' Heinricy, the Revolution capitalizes on every bit of his 38 years of performance car development with GM and his exemplary racing career - Heinricy has more than 240 professional races under his belt, including 35 grueling 24-hour races and multiple race / championship wins. He also holds three FIA Speed Records and has over 1,000 laps of the Nürburgring to his name.

John 'Heinrocket' Heinricy, chief engineer: "I led engineering on some of the most extreme cars to come out of GM, including the Corvette Z06 and Cadillac CTS-V, but nothing compares to designing, developing, and refining a race car for the road like the Venom F5 Revolution. From the outset, we designed the Venom F5 hypercar to be ultra-light and monstrously powerful, with dynamics to match. So, taking these ingredients and adding track-focused aerodynamics, suspension, and gearing, enabled us to create a machine that is the ultimate visceral and emotional driving experience."

Mirroring all other Venom F5 models, mid-mounted in the carbon-fiber monocoque chassis is Hennessey's celebrated twin-turbocharged, 6.6-liter, 'Fury' V8 engine rated at an astonishing 1,817 bhp. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a robust automated single-clutch gearbox calibrated for competitive use. With such low mass, the Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Coupe promises phenomenal acceleration. Carbon-ceramic brakes are fitted as standard and feature muti-piston calipers, ensuring fade-free stopping power on the road or circuit.

Most visible to those checking out the Revolution Coupe is its full-width rear-mounted carbon fiber wing. The adjustable appendage (that allows the owner to adjust the angle of attack through a range of degrees) is fitted with end plates that stop the high-pressure air on top of the wing from spilling underneath - increasing downforce without extending the width of the wing. The end plates also generate vortexes that guide airflow and improve aerodynamics and stability. As a result, the rear wing delivers more than 800 pounds of downforce at 186 mph (300 km/h) and over 1,400 pounds of downforce at 249 mph (400 km/h).

A significantly larger front splitter, crafted from carbon fiber, complements the rear-mounted wing and rear diffuser. The front splitter prevents air from flowing under the F5 Revolution Coupe, which creates a low-pressure vortex beneath the vehicle (aiding downforce). At the same time, the extended rear diffuser guides air out from the hypercar's smooth underbelly. Dive planes, positioned on the front fascia in front of the wheels, aggressively channel airflow to shift the aerodynamic balance forward - adding grip to improve turn-in. In addition, the Revolution features a new roof-mounted central air scoop that delivers fresh cool air to the F5's engine bay, which effectively helps lower component temperatures.

The double-wishbone suspension, with more aggressive alignment settings, is fitted with adjustable dampers that may be calibrated trackside with simple tools - thus optimizing the suspension system for the particular road course, racing circuit, or track. In addition, new forged alloy wheels present a larger contact patch for improved cornering grip and enhanced braking. Lastly, Venom F5 Revolution owners are offered a digital on-board track telemetry system capable of measuring an array of data points. These include lap times, splits, cornering G-forces, and more. The system allows the driver to monitor the telemetry in real time, or the data may be saved for later analysis or archiving.

John Hennessey, company founder and CEO: "The new Venom F5 Revolution Coupe combines our outstanding 1,817 bhp V8 'Fury' combustion engine with our lightest and most capable chassis. The hypercar, which is astoundingly fast, is at home on a racing circuit where utmost handling is paramount - it offers the nimbleness of a fighter jet, yet with a powerplant like a Saturn V rocket!"

The Revolution Coupe is the third model to join the Venom F5 family. Each of the 1,817 bhp variants shares the same decathlete mission - uncompromised acceleration, braking, and handling - yet all have been individually engineered for a specific mission. The F5 Coupe targets ultimate top speed, while the open-roof F5 Roadster delivers the most visceral open-air experience. The new F5 Revolution Coupe dials track performance to an entirely new level.

The Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Coupe will make its global public debut at the Miami Motorcar Cavalcade Concours d'Elegance on January 15, 2023. Priced at $2.7 million and limited to just 24 units, exclusivity is a given. In advance of the official release, many of the Revolution models have already been sold to passionate hypercar fans.

There is no shortage of supercars to choose from if you have six or seven figures to spend and an empty parking space in your second garage that needs to be filled. You have options from Ferrari, McLaren, Pagani, Gordon Murray, and others to start. For NBA legend and businessman Michael Jordan, the selection is likely endless, but he has added a rare Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster to his roster of vehicles.

Hennessey Performance posted the photo of company CEO John Hennessey standing with Michael Jordan in front of his Venom F5 Roadster and Jordan’s private golf club in Florida named Grove XXII. The photo doesn’t show off much of the supercar, which debuted just over a year ago, but it does reveal the car’s exposed and glossy carbon-fiber body and its yellow pinstripes.

Underneath the F5 Roadster’s sheetmetal hides a mid-mounted twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V8 engine. It produces 1,817 horsepower and 1,193 pound-feet of torque, which runs through a seven-speed, single-clutch semi-automatic transmission. Hennessey claims the supercar can exceed 300 miles per hour, with the company claiming the roadster “the world’s fastest and most powerful convertible.”

The Venom F5 Roadster looks a lot like its coupe sibling, especially at the front. However, things start to change at the cabin, which features a removable carbon-fiber roof panel that weighs just 18 pounds. New tempered glass at the back provides a peek at the potent engine behind the passenger compartment. The glass is made of a material that can withstand temperatures over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Roadster’s lack of a roof does increase its curb weight, but not by much. The regular F5 tips the scales at 2,998 pounds, while the F5 Roadster weighs under 3,100 pounds, so there isn’t a big difference.

Jordan is one of only 30 people to own an F5 Roadster, as Hennessey limits its production. The company said it’d make just 24 examples of the coupe, so the convertible isn’t as rare. The increased production number also coincides with an increased price tag, the Venom F5 Roadster costing $3 million to start compared to the $2.1 million coupe. Production began in late 2022.

Oh, if you happen to have the means and the motivation to "be like Mike," check out this stunning F5 listed by our friends at duPont Registry.