Hennessey Performance_had good reason to fly the star-spangled banner with pride when it_recorded a top speed of over 270 miles per hour_at the Kennedy Space Center this past February. That was, after all, faster than the_Bugatti Veyron Super Sport_ever recorded. Unfortunately, the run wasn't official enough to take the crown away (at least to the_Guinness Book of World Recordspeople), but instead of simply trying again, or squeezing a bit of extra power out of the existing_Venom GT, Hennessey is reportedly going back to the drawing board with a comprehensive list of upgrades.According to Hennessey, the project has been dubbed F5, not after the Northrop fighter jet but after the tornado classification. That might seem like a bit much for most any other car, but Hennessey plans on backing it up. For starters, the 7.0-liter twin-turbo V8 is being reworked to deliver as much as (if not more than) 1,400 horsepower, and a new single-clutch paddle-shift gearbox is being developed (a manual will still be offered). New bodywork is being designed atop the_Lotus Elise-based chassis to further cut the Venom's drag coefficient while delivering all the downforce it'll need to stay on the road. It's also set to get a new GPS-based traction control system that will be programmable for specific racing circuits.All that and more is giving Hennessey a target of topping 290 miles per hour, potentially to be achieved at Bonneville. The Texas-based company reportedly plans on making 30 examples, each with a price tag expected to exceed the existing Venom GT's $1.2-million MSRP.
Hennessey Venom F5
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