Hennessey Venom F5 revealed: Wild performance for new supercar

This little known American brand is showing some of the world’s best supercar makers how it’s done and setting a new performance record along the way.

You might not have heard of this supercar before but it’ll be one of the most insane cars on the road.

Hennessey has revealed the production version of its two-seat Venom F5 and the performance numbers are truly wild.

Power for the American supercar comes from a massive 6.6-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine making a red hot 1355kW — equal to about 11 Toyota Corollas.

The Hennessey Venom F5 has a higher power-to-weight ratio than any other production car.

The mighty engine also makes 1617Nm of torque, which is four times the amount made by Toyota’s grunty HiLux ute.

But what makes the Venom F5 extra special is it only weighs 1360kg — about the same as a Mazda3 hatch — giving it the highest power-to-weight ratio of any production car in the world.

This is made possible by a structure and body made exclusively out of carbon fibre, which is stronger than steel, but weighs much less.

Hennessey is aiming to go faster than 500km/h in the Venom F5.

Carbon fibre is extremely expensive, which is why the Venom F5 price will start at $US2.1m before taxes. In Australia, Venom is likely to set you back more than $4m after the application of Luxury Car Tax and GST.

The Hennessey can’t claim the title of world’s most powerful car — that record is held by the Lotus Evija due out next year. It uses four electric motors to make 1471kW/1700Nm.

Jagged aerodynamic features give the Venom F5 a fighter jet look.

But the newcomer does have another title in its sights.

Hennessey will complete a speed challenge at NASA’s space shuttle landing strip in Florida next year where it is aiming to exceed 500km/h.

The world’s fastest production car is the equally unknown SSC Tuatara, an American machine that was clocked at 508km/h earlier this year, smashing the previous record of about 488km/h set by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+.

Wild butterfly doors give the Venom F5 some visual wow factor.

The car’s design has some wow factor, too. Butterfly doors and jagged aerodynamic features give the Venom F5 the look of a fighter jet.

Inside, the cabin is purely focused on the driver. Almost every element is designed to keep the driver tuned to the road ahead.

A F1-style steering wheel has had the top removed to clear the view of the road ahead, and a seven-inch digital instrument cluster draws inspiration from a fighter jet.

The cabin is made for speed not comfort.

Carbon fibre bucket seats are clad in leather pads. Hennessey describes the design of the seats as “function defines form”.

But it isn’t all hard edges. There are a few mod-cons such as a nine-inch infotainment screen compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and satnav. There is a stereo and touches of Alcantara trim to help insulate the cabin.

But even if you have the cash to splash on the rear-wheel drive supercar, you might be too late to snap one up.

A mighty 6.6-litre V6 twin-turbo engine makes immense power and torque.

Hennessey is only going to make 24 examples of the Venom F5 — and only 12 of those will be sold outside of the US. It will be available in either left or right-hand drive.

The first deliveries are set to commence to customers next year.

Originally published as Hennessey Venom F5 revealed: Wild performance for new supercar