Hennessey Venom F5

Every now and then a new car comes along that challenges the status quo. Oftentimes it's a hypercar, a segment only the world's finest brands like Bugatti, Koenigsegg, and Ferrari compete in. But right here in America, there's Hennessey Performance. The Texas-based tuner previously gave us the Venom GT a few years back and now it's much-anticipated successor has arrived.

The Hennessey Venom F5 is the world's most powerful road car with performance capabilities that might seem mind-boggling at first. We can assure you they are very real but only a select few customers will be able to experience this insanity. Bugatti currently holds the record for the world's fast production car and there's no doubt Hennessey aims to defeat that in the very near future. The Venom F5 is not only a hypercar celebration but also a remarkable achievement for a comparatively small automaker from Sealy, Texas.

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All hypercars must look the part and the Venom F5 more than delivers. The overall exterior styling strongly resembles the concept first shown nearly three years ago at Geneva. It doesn't break any new design ground and that's just fine. What we especially like is just how much emphasis was placed on displaying the engine (more on that later), though owners will likely prefer to keep it covered.

The mid-engine setup gave designers greater flexibility, contributing to better overall handling compared to a front-engined architecture. Designers worked directly with engineers to place the engine as low as possible within the vehicle for an improved center of gravity. The butterfly doors are also a nice touch. The only extra feature is the Track Pack, which tacks on a more aggressive front splitter and swaps out the rear spoiler with a wing.

A set of special Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires was selected for its speed breaking quest. The front features 265/35 tires wearing 19-inch forged aluminum wheels while 345/50 tires wrapped around 20-inch wheels are at the rear.

The interior's bare-bones design works very well here. The more features there are, the more weight it creates and weight is the ultimate enemy of high performance. The extremely driver-focused cabin boasts a button-packed steering wheel inspired by an F1 racecar and an airplane yoke. Hennessey says it removed the top rim to improve visibility and encourage drivers to place their heads against the seatbacks - just like in a real race car.

Some of those steering buttons are controls for the windshield wipers, lights, turn signals, and five drive modes: Sport, Track, Drag, Wet, and F5. The latter is for obtaining the car's maximum power output. Drivers will notice the difference between these modes because each adjusts power delivery, traction, and braking.

Hennessey went all-out for the sake of power. The engine, nicknamed "Fury" is a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V8 developed entirely in-house rated at 1,817 horsepower and 1,193 lb-ft of torque. The engine alone weighs 617 pounds and features a new cast-iron block and aluminum cylinder heads. There's also a unique intake manifold design that sees the intercooler placed between the plenum and cylinder heads to reduce intent air temperatures and achieve maximum power.

That power goes directly to the rear wheels through a seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox. Total dry weight comes to just 2,998 pounds and a power-to-weight ratio of 1,298 hp/ton. Needless to say, this greatly contributes to the incredible performance specs. Stopping power comes from 15.35-inch carbon-ceramic brakes and the entire body was built around an ultra-rigid carbon-fiber tub that weighs just 190 pounds.

Hennessey claims a 0-62 mph time of less than three seconds and 0-124 mph in just 4.7 seconds. Top speed is 311 mph. A stainless steel and Inconel exhaust system has a special coating to protect against heat. This coating, called Cerakote, is also utilized for the rear decklid and engine bay cover's underside.

The competition in this segment is extremely limited. Currently, the world's fastest is the SSC Tuatara, which recently achieved a 316.11 mph top speed. However, the manner in which this was done has stirred some debate and the company says it will redo the record attempt. Prior to this, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ was the record holder (304 mph), beating the 2017 record set by the Koenigsegg Agera RS (278 mph). Depending on how the SSC Tuatara performs next, the Hennessey Venom F5's claimed 311 mph could ultimately put it at No. 1.

Hennessey plans to build only 24 examples, each with a price tag of $2.1 million each. Deliveries are set to get underway in the first half of 2021.