Hennessey Venom GT

Last updated

Hennessey Venom GT
Hennessey Venom GT (16040233465).jpg
Overview
Manufacturer Hennessey Performance Engineering
Production13 units
(7 Coupes and 6 Spyders)
Model years 20112017
Assembly
Body and chassis
Class Sports car (S)
Body style 2-door coupe
2-door roadster (Spyder)
Layout Longitudinal   rear mid-engine rear-wheel-drive
Related Lotus Elise
Lotus Exige
Powertrain
Engine 427 cu in (7.0 L) twin-turbocharged LS7 V8 [1]
Transmission 6-speed Ricardo manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase 110.2 in (2,799 mm)
Length183.7 in (4,666 mm) [1]
Width77.2 in (1,961 mm) [1]
Height44.7 in (1,135 mm)
Curb weight 2,743 lb (1,244 kg) (Coupe)
2,773 lb (1,258 kg) (Spyder)
Chronology
Successor Hennessey Venom F5

The Hennessey Venom GT is a limited-production high performance [1] sports car manufactured by US manufacturer Hennessey Performance Engineering. The Venom GT is based on the Lotus Elise/Exige.

Contents

Speed records

On January 21, 2013, the Venom GT set a Guinness World Record for the fastest road legal car from 0–186 mph (0–300 km/h) with an average acceleration time of 13.63 seconds. [2] In addition, the car set an unofficial record for 0–200 mph (0–322 km/h) acceleration at 14.51 seconds, beating the Koenigsegg Agera R's time of 17.68 seconds, making it the unofficial fastest accelerating road legal car in the world. [3] [4]

On April 3, 2013, the Hennessey Venom GT reached 265.7 mph (427.6 km/h) over 2 miles (3.2 km) during testing at United States Naval Air Station Lemoore California. Hennessey used two VBOX 3i data logging systems to document the run and had VBOX officials on hand to certify the numbers. [5]

On February 14, 2014, on the Kennedy Space Center's 3.22-mile (5.2 km) shuttle landing strip in Florida, the Hennessey team recorded a top speed of 270.49 mph (435.31 km/h) in a limited distance of 2.3 miles (3.7 km) with the Director of Miller Motorsport Park, Brian Smith, driving. As the run was in a single direction, and only 29 cars were produced (to qualify for Guinness World Records a minimum of 30 cars are required to be produced), it does not qualify as the world's fastest production car in the Guinness Book of Records. [6] [7]

On March 25, 2016 the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder recorded a top speed of 265.57 mph (427.4 km/h) at Naval Air Station Lemoore, celebrating Hennessey's 25th anniversary. [8] As with previous speed tests, the run was independently verified by Racelogic as World Fastest road legal open-top sports car. In May, 2016, the Hennessey Team revealed that the car was about 300 hp (224 kW) down on power due to issues with one of the car's three high capacity fuel pumps. Normally, the forced induction 7.0-liter V8 engine in the Venom GT Spyder generates 1,451 hp (1,082 kW; 1,471 PS) and 1,287 lb⋅ft (1,745 N⋅m) of torque. [9]

Specifications

Chassis

The Venom GT has a heavily modified Lotus Elise/Exige chassis. The Venom GT retains many Elise components including the roof, doors, side glass, windscreen, cockpit, floorpan, HVAC system, wiper and head lamps, although the manufacturer is not associated with Lotus Cars. For road use the car is registered as a Lotus Exige (modified) and is not a series production car. [1]

The Venom GT has a curb weight of 2,743 lb (1,244 kg) aided by carbon fiber bodywork and carbon fiber wheels. The brakes have Brembo 6-piston calipers at the front and 4-piston calipers at the rear. The rotors are 15 in (380 mm) carbon ceramic units provided by Surface Transforms.

Drivetrain

Rear view with engine displayed Hennessy Venom GT - Flickr - Supermac1961.jpg
Rear view with engine displayed

The Venom GT is powered by a twin-turbocharged 427 cu in (7.0 L) GM LS7 V8 engine. The LS9 architecture incorporates specific design features such as reinforced internal components and additional head bolts with aluminum heads including twin Precision dual ball bearing turbochargers. The engine has a power output of 1,244 hp (928 kW; 1,261 PS) at 6,600 rpm and 1,155 lb⋅ft (1,566 N⋅m) of torque at 4,400 rpm. [1] Engine power output is adjustable by three settings: 800 hp (597 kW; 811 PS), 1,000 hp (746 kW; 1,014 PS) and 1,200 hp (895 kW; 1,217 PS). The engine has a redline of 7,200 rpm.

The mid-mounted engine is connected to the rear wheels by a Ricardo 6-speed manual transmission,as used in the Ford GT. [1]

A programmable traction control system manages power output. Computational fluid dynamics tested bodywork and downforce also help keep the car stable. Under varying conditions on both the road and racetrack, an active aero system with adjustable rear wing will deploy. An adjustable suspension system allows ride height adjustments by 2.4 in (61 mm) according to speed and driving conditions. The car is fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires.

Venom GT Spyder

The Venom GT Spyder is an open top version of the Venom GT. Having decided to order a Venom GT, Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler approached Hennessey in mid-late 2011 and asked if an open-top version could be created. This involved structural changes which added 30 lb (14 kg) to the curb weight. Tyler's was the first of five cars scheduled for the 2013 model year. [10] The car was later put up for auction on January 20, 2017 and was sold by Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona for US$800,000. [11] [12]

For the 2016 model year, the Spyder gained 207 hp (154 kW) for a total of 1,451 hp (1,082 kW).

The production of the Spyder was limited to five units with a one-off Spyder being produced as the "Final edition" model bringing the total to 6 units.

Venom GT "World's Fastest Edition" (2014)

The Venom GT "World's Fastest Edition" is a version of the Venom GT coupe limited to 3 units. The model commemorates the Venom GT coupe's 0–300 km/h Guinness World Record.

The vehicle went on sale for US$1.25 million. [13] All three units were sold to customers shortly after their production was announced by the manufacturer. [14] [15]

Venom GT "Final Edition" (2017)

A single unit of the Venom GT Spyder, called the Final Edition, was produced to commemorate the car's six year production run and to mark an end to the production of the Venom GT. [16] The engine output is the same but the curb weight has been decreased by 9 lb (4 kg). The car is painted "Glacier Blue" with double narrow white stripes. The vehicle was pre-sold for US$1.2 million before its public debut. [17]

Successor

The Hennessey Venom GT is succeeded by the Hennessey Venom F5, which was unveiled in November 2017; unlike its predecessor, it is a series production car built completely from the ground up, including chassis and engine. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supercar</span> Luxury, high-performance sports car or grand tourer

A supercar, also known as an exotic car, is a type of automobile generally described as a street-legal, luxury superlative performance sports car, both in terms of power, speed, and handling. The term 'supercar' is therefore frequently used for low-bodied sportscars with powerful, rear mid-mounted engines. Since the 2000s, the term hypercar has also come into use for the most high-end performance cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus Elise</span> Motor vehicle

The Lotus Elise is a sports car conceived in early 1994 and released in September 1996 by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars. A two-seater roadster with a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, the Elise has a fibreglass body shell atop its bonded extruded aluminium chassis that provides a rigid platform for the suspension, while keeping weight and production costs to a minimum. The Elise was named after Elisa Artioli, the granddaughter of Romano Artioli who was chairman of Lotus and Bugatti at the time of the car's launch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porsche Carrera GT</span> Mid-engine limited production sports car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Porsche

The Porsche Carrera GT is a mid-engine sports car that was manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Porsche from 2004 to 2006. Sports Car International named the Carrera GT number one on its list of Top Sports Cars of the 2000s, and number eight on its Top Sports Cars of All Time list. For its advanced technology and development of its chassis, Popular Science magazine awarded it the "Best of What's New" award in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus Esprit</span> British sports car

The Lotus Esprit is a sports car built by Lotus Cars from 1976 to 2004 at their Hethel, England factory. It has a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. Together with the Lotus Elise / Exige, it is one of Lotus' most long-lived models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitsubishi Eclipse</span> Sport compact car that was produced by Mitsubishi Motors

The Mitsubishi Eclipse is a sport compact car that was produced by Mitsubishi in four generations from 1989 until 2011. A convertible body style was added during the 1996 model year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus Exige</span> Car model

The Lotus Exige is a sports car made by the British company Lotus Cars from 2000 until 2021. Originally a coupé version of the Lotus Elise roadster, since the Series 3 the Exige has been the larger-engined model of the family, featuring a V6 engine in place of the Elise's straight-four. Convertible versions of both models are available.

Isdera or Ingenieurbüro für Styling, Design und Racing was a privately run German specialty automaker and design service provider based in Saarbrücken, with a design subsidiary in Shanghai, China. The company was founded and formerly based in Leonberg, Germany. Each high-performance sports car was hand-built by a small team of craftsmen, and the only way to purchase a brand new Isdera was to call the CEO directly. Each vehicle was custom built for its original buyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maserati Ghibli</span> Car models sold by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati

Maserati Ghibli is the name of three different cars produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati: the AM115, a V8 grand tourer from 1967 to 1973; the AM336, a V6 twin-turbocharged coupé from 1992 to 1998; and the M157, an executive saloon from 2013 onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus Europa S</span> Motor vehicle

The Lotus Europa S is a sports car built by the British company Lotus Cars from 2006 until 2010. It has a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and was designed to be a more comfortable variant of the driver-focused Lotus Elise and its derivative, the Exige. The Europa S revived the Europa nameplate previously used in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Hennessey Viper Venom 1000TT (Twin Turbo) is an upgraded version of the Dodge Viper produced by Hennessey Performance Engineering, also known as HPE, that can be purchased as a complete car or as an upgrade package. The car can be had as a coupe or a convertible. It has a theoretical maximum production run of 24 vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SSC Ultimate Aero</span> American sportscar manufactured by SSC North America

The SSC Ultimate Aero is a mid-engined sports car that was produced by SSC North America from 2004 until 2013. The SSC Ultimate Aero held the world production car speed record title, according to the Guinness World Records, from 2007 until the introduction of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport in 2010. In April 2013, the Guinness World Records temporarily disqualified the Veyron's record time for a period of five days due to concerns about electronic speed limiting changing the function of the car, but after investigation reinstated the Veyron as the record holder.

This is a list of the world's record-breaking top speeds achieved by street-legal production cars. For the purposes of this list eligible cars are defined in the list's rules. This list uses a different definition to the List of automotive superlatives. The variation is because the term production car is otherwise undefined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porsche 911 GT2</span> Motor vehicle

The Porsche 911 GT2 is a high-performance, track-focused sports car built by the German automobile manufacturer Porsche from 1993 to 2009, and then since 2010 as the GT2 RS. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine enhancements, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration. The GT2 is significantly lighter than the Turbo due to its use of rear-wheel-drive instead of all-wheel-drive system and the reduction or removal of interior components. As a result, the GT2 is the most expensive and fastest model among the 911 lineup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus Evora</span> Sports car by British car firm Lotus

The Lotus Evora is a sports car produced by the British company Lotus. The car, which was developed under the project name Project Eagle, was launched on 22 July 2008 at the British International Motor Show. The Evora S was launched in 2010 with a supercharged 3.5-litre V6. A facelifted and more powerful Evora 400 model was unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, followed by another more powerful variant, the Evora GT430, which was unveiled in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porsche 918 Spyder</span> Plug-in hybrid hypercar

The Porsche 918 Spyder is a high performance sports car manufactured by German marque Porsche. The 918 Spyder is a plug-in hybrid powered by a mid-mounted naturally aspirated 4.6 L (4,593 cc) V8 engine, developing 447 kW at 8,700 RPM, with two electric motors delivering an additional 210 kW for a combined output of 652 kW (875 hp) and 1,280 N⋅m (944 lbf⋅ft) of torque. The 918 Spyder's 6.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack delivers an all-electric range of 19 km (12 mi) under the US Environmental Protection Agency's five-cycle tests.

Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) is an American hypercar manufacturer and high-performance vehicle creator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamborghini Huracán</span> Sports car manufactured by Lamborghini

The Lamborghini Huracán is a sports car manufactured by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini replacing the previous V10 offering, the Gallardo. The Huracán was revealed online in December 2013, making its worldwide debut at the 2014 Geneva Auto Show and was released in the market in the second quarter of 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hennessey Venom F5</span> American sports car

The Hennessey Venom F5 is a sports car developed and manufactured by the American vehicle-manufacturing company Hennessey Special Vehicles which was established in 2017. Hennessey has contracted with Delta Motorsport of Silverstone, England for the development of the vehicle, which will be the company's first all new proprietary vehicle as an accredited titled manufacturer. Delta Motorsport also produced all of the previous generation Venom GT cars for Hennessey at its facility in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radical RXC</span> Motor vehicle

The Radical RXC is a line of track-only race cars and street-legal road cars built by British manufacturer Radical Sportscars. The first street-legal RXC was unveiled in January 2013 at the Autosport International auto show, and it has since been offered in many different engine and racing configurations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audi R8 (Type 4S)</span> Second and final generation of the R8 sports car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Audi

The Audi R8 is the second generation of the R8 sports car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Audi. The Type 4S is based on the Lamborghini Huracán and shares its platform and engine. The Type 4S was introduced at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show and its production began in late 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "2014 Hennessey Venom GT Specifications". Hennessey Performance. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  2. "Fastest production car 0-300 km/h". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  3. Okulski, Travis (January 21, 2013). "Watch the Hennessey Venom GT Shatter Two Speed Records". Jalopnik . Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  4. Pattni, Vijay (January 21, 2013). "Watch: Hennessey GT sets world record". Top Gear. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  5. Bowman, Zach (April 3, 2013). "Hennessey Venom GT goes 265.7 mph, claims top-speed crown from Veyron". Autoblog. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  6. Nunez, Alex (February 24, 2014). "The Hennessey Venom GT is the world's fastest car". Road & Track. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  7. Siceloff, Stevn (March 6, 2014). "Hennessey Venom Makes 270 MPH Run at Kennedy". nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  8. Bell, Kirk (April 11, 2016). "Hennessey Venom GT Spyder sets new open-top speed record". Motor Authority. US. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  9. Vijayenthiran, Viknesh (May 12, 2016). "Hennessey Venom GT Spyder was down on power when making record run". Motor Authority. US. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  10. "Steven Tyler gets first Venom GT Spyder". Top Gear . UK. May 27, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  11. Rosenholtz, Jared (January 16, 2017). "The Aerosmith Hennessey Venom GT Spyder Is Up For Sale". CarBuzz. US. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  12. Tahaney, Ed (February 3, 2017). "Janie's Fund receives $800,000 from the sale". US: MotorTrend Magazine TEN: The Enthusiast Network. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  13. "$1.25M Venom GT 'World's Fastest Edition' is so quick you've missed your chance". Autoblog. March 25, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  14. Nelson Ireson. "Hennessey Announces $1.25 Million Venom GT World's Fastest Edition, Already Sold Out". Motor Authority. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  15. "Hennessey's $1.25M Venom GT World's Fastest Edition Sold Out Fast". April 6, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  16. Pattni, Vijay (January 19, 2017). "This is the final 1,451 hp Venom GT". Top Gear. US. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  17. Alaniz, Anthony (January 19, 2017). "Hennessey Venom GT Production Ends With Final Edition". Autoweek. US. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  18. Gustafson, Sven (November 1, 2017). "301 mph, 1,600 hp: Hennessey Venom F5 details emerge". Autoblog. Retrieved November 1, 2017.