The Story

In 2007, Road & Track Magazine invited Hennessey Performance to participate in a shootout between some of the world’s fastest supercars. The contest? Find out which car could accelerate from 0 to 200 mph in the shortest amount of time. Some of the heavyweights competing where the Mercedes McLaren SLR, Lamborghini Murcielago, Ruf Porsche 911 Twin Turbo and the 1001 bhp all-wheel drive Bugatti Veyron 16.4.

For our entry, the Hennessey team brought the company’s latest Venom 1000 Twin Turbo Viper. Several runs were made by each car on the 2.9 mile long runway at Lemoore Naval Air Station in central California. At the end of the day, the Hennessey Venom 1000 Viper was crowned king of the ROAD & TRACK “Speed Kings” shootout by posting the quickest time of the day by running 0 to 200 mph in an astonishing 20.3 seconds. By comparison, the 2nd place Bugatti Veyron 16.4 was nearly 4 seconds behind the Venom with a time of 24.2 seconds.

“At the end of the Road & Track test, we were very pleased with the results and the Venom taking first place over the Veyron”, says John Hennessey. “As far as I am aware, we have the only car that has ever beaten a Veyron in an independent, head to head test of vehicle performance. While we were quite happy with that accomplishment, it did not take long for me to begin thinking about what could we do to improve the performance of our car.”

He continues, “I thought that we could possibly add a bit more power but had concerns about being able to put that power to the ground via the Viper front-engine rear-wheel drive platform. My next thought was to reduce weight… try to lighten the Viper from 3500 lbs to under 3000 lbs. But that would not be reality as the car could only shed about 200 lbs while still being a true street car with a full interior, AC, etc. So I started thinking about lighter alternative vehicles that could be modified to 1000+ hp and that could put the power to the ground. All-wheel drive went against the grain of light weight due to the added driveline components.”

“One day I joked about putting the Venom 1000 Twin Turbo engine in the back of a Lotus Exige. Then I thought, let’s do a sketch and see what that might look like. When I saw the sketch I stopped laughing and really started to seriously think about this idea. We then had a few more detailed renderings made. And when I saw these drawings, I thought to myself, we can build this car with 1000+ hp and a weight well under 3000 lbs. A mid-engine design like the Ford GT will put the weight of the motor and transmission over the rear tires giving better traction. Design as much down force as we will need to have a car that handles like a kart on the road or race track. At the same time also have a car with the best power to weight ratio possible giving unmatched acceleration. This is how the Venom GT concept was born.”

2013 Hennessey Venom GT Specifications

Performance

0 – 60 mph	2.5 sec.
0 – 200 mph	15.3 sec. (Bugatti Veyron 16.4 = 24.2 sec.)

Power

Horsepower	Adjustable with 3 settings: 800 bhp, 1,000 bhp & 1,200 bhp
Torque	1,155 lb-ft (when set at 1,200 bhp)
Bhp / Weight	767.23 hp per ton or 2.61 lbs / hp
Boost	16 psi (1.1 bar)
Fuel	98 octane RON

Engine

Type	V8
Block	Aluminum
Size	376 CID (6.2 Liter)
Position	Mid Longitudinal
Compression	8.8:1
Redline	7,200 rpm
Forced Induction	Twin Garrett Ball Bearing Turbochargers
Oiling System	Dry Sump Lubrication
Fuel System	Sequential Multi-Port Electronic Fuel Injection

Transmission

Type	Ricardo 6-Speed Manual
Gear Ratios	2.61:1, 1.71:1, 1.23:1, 0.94:1, 0.77:1, 0.63:1
Final Drive	3.36:1

Brakes

Calipers	Brembo 6-Piston (all four corners)
Rotors	15.0 x 1.34 in. Carbon Ceramic (all four corners)

Suspension

Type	KW Variant 3 Adjustable Coil-over (all four corners)
Ride Height	Adjustable by 2.4 inches (60 mm)

Dimensions

Length	15.27 ft. (4,655 mm)
Width	6.43 ft. (1,960 mm)
Wheelbase	110.24 in. (2,800 mm)
Track – Front	63.46 in. (1,612 mm)
Track – Rear	63.15 in. (1,604 mm)

Body

Material	Carbon fiber composite except doors & roof
Type	2-door

Weights & Measures

Curb Weight	2,685 lbs (1,220 kilo)
Dry Weight	2,524 lbs (1,147 kilo)
F / R Balance	37 / 63 (empty); 44 / 56 (with driver & passenger)
Fuel Capacity	18.5 gal. (70 Liter)

Wheels & Tires

Tire – Front	255/30/20 Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Tire – Rear	345/30/20 Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Wheel – Front	9.5 x 20 in.
Wheel – Rear	12.5 x 20 in.