Hennessey Venom Is Ridiculously Fast

When it comes to hypercars, ridiculous is a necessity. In that regard, the new Hennessey Venom F5 excels. After all, the thing not only looks fast, it can hit 301 mph. This is how America is answering the Bugatti Chiron, and the French should be listening.

We don’t know displacement yet, but Hennessey says a twin-turbo V-8, which is completely new, provides a whopping 1,600 horsepower. Sending all that monstrous power to the rear wheels is a beefy seven-speed single-clutch transmission, which the driver controls through paddles. That’s a curious choice, since most automakers would go with a dual-clutch setup. Then again, Hennessey isn’t normal.

The Venom F5 is so fast, Hennessey lists its 0 to 186 mph acceleration time, which is under 10 seconds. Yikes. Be sure you change your underwear afterward, if you have the good fortune of driving this hypercar and you don’t die in a ball of fire. Hennessey lists the 0 to 249 mph acceleration time at under 30 seconds.

Of course, all the power in the world won’t guarantee quick acceleration or a top speed exceeding 300 mph. Hennessey designed the carbon fiber body panels so they generate a drag coefficient of only 0.33. The lightweight construction means the Venom F5 tips the scale at under 3,000 pounds, and we’re not talking about curb weight. Active aero components keep the hypercar from launching into the stratosphere.