Hennessy To Challenge Bugatti For The Title Of Fastest Production Car In The World
If hyper-velocity ambitions and aesthetic over-indulgence had a name, Hennessey would be a strong challenge for the likes of Pagani, SSC, and Koenigsegg. The Texas-based supercar label wants to continue that legacy in 2024, and this time around, it has another speed title in its sights that is currently held by Bugatti. The company says it aims to breach the 300 mph speed barrier with its Hennessey Venom F5 hypercar, which can set quite a few enthusiasts gasping for breath with its 1,817 bhp output.
Hennessey has pinned its world record hopes on the twin-turbocharged V8 "Fury" engine married to an ultra-lightweight carbon chassis and the skills of Pikes Peak legend David Donohue sitting behind the wheels. It's quite an unabashed braggadocio when a company says it needs to find a straight road long enough for the needle to go beyond the 300 mph mark, but that's exactly what Hennessey is looking for.
"The search is on for a runway or public road with a sufficiently long strait," says the company. Just keep in mind that the company has already sold its inventory of two dozen Venom F5 units. But if you've got some patience, a deep pocket, and a tad bit of special attention from Lady Luck, Hennessey has plans for open-top and track-centric trims of the car coming out soon, but there's no date set for their arrival. Also, the cars tend to sell out before you can finish reading an article about their debut, so there's that.
It's about supremacy. Period!
Now, Hennessey has chosen a rather auspicious year for attempting to cross the 300 mph benchmark or even break the world record. Right now, the crown for the world's fastest road-legal supercar is held by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, boasting a peak speed of 304 mph. It is followed by the SSC Tuatara, the Koenigsegg Agera RS, and the Rimac Nevera. If the Venom F5 doesn't quite eclipse the Bugatti monster, it would still become the world's second-fastest supercar, and that's no mean feat.
2024 is special for Hennessey, as it marks the tenth anniversary of a landmark achievement. In 2014, the Hennessey Venom GT set a world record, touching 270.49 mph in its speed run at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Back then, it snatched the world record from the Bugatti Veyron, which at one point seemed to be the uncontested champion in the hypercar arena. It seems Hennessey really wants to own the speed record and has been planning to do it for a while now.
"We're very intent on going over three hundred miles per hour in two directions, which would make the speed record official," founder John Hennessey told The New Yorker in 2023. He also made fun of rivals (read: Bugatti), who, after getting bested, claim that they are no longer interested in chasing speed records. As for the Venom F5 itself, Hennessey labeled it as "pure, unapologetic horsepower" and "the ultimate expression" of its brand.