Hennessey, the Texan tuner, is known for his extravagance. And we are not talking about the six-wheel Ford truck. Instead this is the car that has been built to retain the world’s fastest car title in case someone is planning to stage a coup (read Bugatti Chiron). Meet the Hennessey Venom F5, the car that has officially staked its claim at the 300mph (480+kmph) mark.
Built on a fresh slate, the Venom F5 gets a typical racecar-like carbon-fibre tub with a carbon bodywork to keep the weight to an absolute minimum. Aerodynamics is always the key to speed and the F5 gets a drag coefficient of just 0.33Cd. All the aero bits and scoops are functional and are deployed automatically to cut through the air and also take the heat out from the mid-mounted engine.
Under the hood, it has now been confirmed that the power is delivered by an eight cylinder 7.4-litre v-block. Hennessey has employed two hefty turbochargers to pump out close to the 1600bhp of power the F5 needs to hit 300mph. You can opt for a manual gearbox if you think you are up for handling close to 1800Nm of torque feeding the rear wheels or you can settle for a seven-speed torque converter to do the honours.
Acceleration numbers are going to be obliterated as this entire package weighs just 1360kg. Which kind of explains why Hennessey didn’t go for the quad-turbo setup or for hybrid powertrains. But then, if you thought it would feel like crap inside, you have carbon-fibre trims, alcantara leather and an Apple interface to give you the wows.
Only 24 of these 300mph machines will be built and sold at a 1.6 million dollars apiece. You have to apply to buy one and you will be chosen by the man himself, John Hennessey, provided that he finds you suitable to own one of his fastest creations yet. A sub-20 second 0-400kmph time now seems insignificant, doesn’t it?
