The F5's attempt at speed record will be Hennessey's second attempt, having reached 270 on NASA tracks a decade ago, with its predecessor, the Venom GTThe speed of 49 mph (about 435 kmh) exceeded the 268 of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, the record holder at the time86 mph (433 kmh). However, the Venom GT's record was not recognized by most people, as it was produced in too small quantities, only 12 units, which did not meet the standards of a production car.
This time, Hennessey will once again compete with Bugatti, the first supercar brand to break 300 mph, with its CHIRON Super Sport 300+ reaching 304 in 20197 mph (490 km/h) speed. However, the Bugatti's record is also controversial, as it only measures speed in one direction, whereas the usual rule is to average it in both directions to eliminate the influence of wind direction. By this rule, the current record holder is SSC Tuatara, which achieved 282 in 2021The average speed of 9 mph (about 455 kmh) in both directions broke the 277 set by the Koenigsegg AGERA RS in 2017A record of 9 mph (about 447 km/h).
Speaking of Koenigsegg, the Swedish supercar manufacturer will also be trying its own speed record this year, with its new Jesko Absolut being a low-drag version designed for high speeds. Christian von Koenigsegg, founder of Koenigsegg, said in a recent interview that based on theoretical model calculations, Jesko Absolut's top speed could exceed 310 mph (about 499 km/h).
John Hennessey, founder of Hennessey, said in a statement: "I'm glad to see Koenigsegg preparing for the high speed as well, and I hope Bugatti will join the party as well." He also revealed that his company's simulation tests show that the Venom F5 can reach a theoretical top speed of 328 mph (about 528 kilometers per hour), but that is not their current goal. They start by focusing on more than 300 mph in both directions, and maybe even 310 mph in one direction.
Hennessey has delivered 22 of the planned 24 Venom F5s to customers (with other special editions planned) and has built an expanded engineering team ready for a speed record attempt. The driver's task will be taken over by 24 Hours of Le Mans and Pikes Peak racing veteran D**id Donohue, son of racing legend Mark Donohue.
The Hennessey Venom F5 is a supercar full of ambition and passion that will show the world its speed potential this year, and we look forward to seeing how it performs.