Hennessey's Venom F5 Might Just Become the Fastest Car in the World
The fastest production car in the world is the 2011 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, which clocks a high speed of 267 mph. The new 2017 Bugatti Chiron is fast too, at 261 mph—and that's when it is electronically limited. But Bugatti may soon be usurped by another supercar: the Hennessey Venom F5.
Last week, Hennessey teased the release of its newest car, the Venom F5, which it will officially unveil in Las Vegas at the SEMA Show on November 1. There are whispers it will break through the 300-mph barrier. “I think something in the 290-mph range will be possible,” owner John Hennessey told Top Gear. Either way, Hennessey, a Texas-based company, looks primed to leapfrog over Bugatti.
The Venom F5 will be a lightweight car—relatively speaking—powered by a "big ol' American" V8 engine and two turbochargers. It was designed to be aerodynamically superior, and named for an F5 tornado, which registers wind gusts from 262 to 317 mph.
Bugatti and Hennessey have a history of chasing after one another. The record for fastest speed reached by a vehicle is actually held by Hennessey, but the car that did it, the Venom GT, which reached 270 mph in 2014, only performed one run (two are required for it to be official by Guinness World Records) and is not a true production car, making it ineligible.
With all the hype and its ultra-competitive history, Hennessey has much to live up to on November 1—especially if it's trying to blow by Bugatti at 300 mph.
This story originally appeared on Esquire.com.
* Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.
