This is the Hennessey Venom GT, set to run in public for the first time at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Venom GT is a supercar based on the Lotus Elise and is capable of delivering 262mph and 1000bhp. We can see that not much of the original Lotus could still be observed on this model. There is an entirely new rear subframe assembly that’s necessary to fit the V8 and six-speed gearbox into the small car. A facility in Silverstone, England, finished the adjustments to the Elise chassis before Hennessey Performance in Texas did the rest of the changes. Powering the Venom GT is a twin-turbocharged version of the Corvette LS9 engine.
This car will be available in three tuning packages. The base model posted 725bhp and 741lb ft of torque. Hennessey develop twin-turbocharged motors — one producing 1000bhp and 900lb ft of twist while the other has an output of 1200bhp and 1100lb ft. These engines are mated to a six-speed Ricardo gearbox with a programmable traction control system. Hennessey has yet to release information on how fast the car can get 60mph, but it claims that all variants can accelerate to this speed in “under three seconds.”
The company also claimed that these cars can go faster than 200mph. To control the Venom GT is a set of 15-inch carbon rotors with six-piston calipers up front and 14-inch carbon rotors with four-pot calipers at the rear. Only 10 cars will be built each year. Hennessey reports that it has already sold four units. Each buyer gets a one-day course on driving the car.
