The first production Elise-bodied, Corvette ZR1-powered Hennessey Venom GT adds a layer of shiny paint, but with 1,200 hp and a 2,548-pound curb weight the first customer will surely strip it back down to its carbon fiber body.



After months of staring at the concept Venom GT, the production model's finally here and for your hard-earned $1,000,000 you'll end up with a car rarer, cheaper and, frankly, more outrageous than any Bugatti Veyron on the road.



With the nose of a Lotus Elise and the big, bad American V8 this is the world's greatest hybrid. In the top-of-the-line trim the mid-mounted aluminum LS9 benefits from twin Garrett turbos and produces an insane 1,200 HP and 1,135 lb-ft of torque all in a 2,548-lb carbon fiber body. It's basically what Colin Chapman would've envisioned if he was tripping on pcp and Enzyte.



This model comes with a 6-speed Ricardo manual and theoretically reaches 260 mph in sixth gear at 6,600 rpm, though the speedo goes up to 270 mph. Someone's gonna have to test this (we volunteer). All this translates to a 0-to-62 MPH in 2.9 seconds. Stopping power comes via Brembos with 6-piston calipers and 15-inch carbon ceramic discs at each corner. The sleek body provides a drag coefficient of 0.36 with the rear wing down and 0.43 with it up.



John Hennessey calls the Venom "the fulfillment of a dream" he's had since he was a kid. We think the Elise-based, 725 hp Corvette ZR1-powered Venom will replace Miranda Kerr as the star of some new dreams for a generation of kids.