The Texas born and bred Hennessey Venom GT Spyder recently set a world record for the fastest convertible with a recorded maximum speed of 427.4kmph! The Venom GT Spyder piloted by Brian Smith reached this milestone at the 4.6km long runway of the Naval Air Station Lemoore, California.
The Venom GT Spyder is powered by a twin-turbocharged 7.0L V8 motor which puts out an astonishing 1451bhp and 1745Nm of torque. This, coupled with the kerb weight of just 1258kg, propels it to 100kmph from a standstill in around 2.5 seconds. It is also capable of doing 0-320kmph in under 13 seconds!
“2016 marks the 25th anniversary of Hennessey Performance,” said tuner and company founder, John Hennessey. “I thought that this would be a special way to celebrate 25 years of making fast cars faster. I’ve wanted to test the top speed of our Venom GT Spyder, without the roof, ever since our coupe ran 270.4mph (435.16kmph) on the Space Shuttle landing runway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in 2014. This was a great way to validate the technical excellence of our car which includes high-speed stability with an open roof,” he added.
The Venom’s run was confirmed by speed testing firm Racelogic and it beat the previous record by 17.7kph set in 2013 by the Bugatti Super Sport Vitesse. However, with the Bugatti Chiron on the way we wonder how long the Hennessey can keep its crown.
Hennessey is planning to make three “World Record Edition” Venom GT Spyders to acknowledge this incredible feat and to celebrate the company’s 25th anniversary. The cost is believed to be a cool Rs 8.63 crore each, plus tax.