HENNESSEY VENOM ~ GT

Venom GT Spyder: The back story of the world’s fastest open top road car.

On Saturday, March 26 the Hennessey Venom GT became the fastest open top sports car by running 265.6 mph. But was it easy? Check out the back story of man and machine and what it took for the Hennessey team to improvise, adapt and overcome in order to achieve their goal of making the Venom GT Spyder the fastest open top car in the world.

 

Hennessey Venom GT

Hennessey Venom GT

2014 Hennessey Venom GT Specifications

Performance

0-60 mph 0-100 mph 0-300 km/h 0-200 mph ¼ mile Standing half mile Standing mile Verified speed Est. top speed

2.7 sec. 5.6 sec. 13.63 sec. – Guinness World Record 14.51 sec. – Hypercar World Record 9.92 sec. @ 163 mph 206 mph 253 mph 270.49 mph 278 mph

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Engine

Type Valvetrain Block/heads Forced induction Horsepower Torque Displacement Compression ratio Redline Lubrication Fuel injection

90-degree V8 overhead valve, 2 valves/cyl iron /aluminum twin precision ball bearing turbochargers 1244 bhp @ 6600 rpm (cockpit-adjustable to 800, 1000 & 1244 bhp) 1155 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm 7000 cc/427 cu. in. 9.2:1 7200 rpm dry sump system electronic sequential multi-port

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Chassis

Layout Body/frame Brakes, f & r Wheels Tires Steering Suspension, f&r Springs/shocks Ride height

mid-longitudinal engine/rear drive carbon fiber & composite/aluminum hybrid monocoque-space frame 15.0 x 1.3-in. carbon-ceramic rotors, 6-piston Brembo fixed calipers Hennessey H10 forged monoblock, 9.5 x 19 front, 12.5 x 20 rear Michelin Pilot Super Sport; 265/30ZR19 front, 345/30ZR20 rear rack & pinion, 6-position variable electric assist unequal-length tubular A-arms, anti-roll bars Penske 2-way-adjustable coilovers adjustable; range of 2.4 in.

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Drivetrain

Transmission	Ricardo 6-Speed manual
Final Drive Ratio	3.36:1
1st gear/max speed 2nd gear/max speed 3rd gear/max speed 4th gear/max speed 5th gear/max speed 6th gear/max speed	2.61:1 69 mph 1.71:1 105 mph 1.23:1 146 mph 0.94:1 191mph 0.77:1 233 mph 0.63:1 278 mph

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Dimensions & Capacities

Length Width Height Wheelbase Track, front Track, rear Ground clearance Curb weight Fuel capacity Weight distribution, f/r % (with driver & passenger)

183.7 in./4655 mm 77.2 in./1960 mm 44.7 in./1135 mm 110.2 in./2800 mm 63.5 in./1612 mm 63.2 in./1604 mm 3.5 in. to 5.9 in./90 mm to 150 mm 2743 lb/1244 kg 18.5 gal./70 liters 44/56

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Optional Upgrades

• Michelin Pilot Sport Cup ZP Tires
• Bare Carbon Fiber Finish
• Right-Hand Drive
• Stefano Ricci Bespoke Interior
• Stereo System Designed by Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

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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 Murciellago, 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 downforce 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.”

Original Sketches

Concept Renderings

 

 Note: The Hennessey Venom GT design is based on the Lotus Elise / Exige. The Venom GT is created from a base Lotus Elise / Exige and utilizes components including but not limited to the roof, doors, side glass, windscreen, dash, cockpit, floorpan, HVAC system, wiper and headlights. Hennessey Performance and the Venom GT are not associated with Lotus Cars.