John Hennessey,
the Texas-based tuner of performance automobiles (“making fast cars go
faster” is his company's credo), has reason to be a little smug. His
Hennessey Venom GT recently set the production-car speed record, edging
out the Volkswagen Group’s Bugatti Veyron SuperSport. More in-cut below...
In the
asterisk-strewn realm of speed records, the Venom GT’s run to 265.7mph
(427.6kph) at a Texas airfield in February is not unblemished; the
SuperSport was tested to 268mph, but Hennessey is quick to note that
production versions of that car are limited to 258mph to prevent their
tires from exploding.
Regardless of what Veyron defenders may say, Hennessey’s run, explored in depth in the April issue of Top Gear magazine,
was the loudest salvo yet from a company that has fuelled garish
horsepower fantasies since 1991. The question facing Hennessey is, quite
literally, where to now? With two miles of runway to work with before
reserving the last nine-tenths of a mile for deceleration, the Venom GT
has few straightaways on which to discover its outermost limits.
“Our goal was 270, which would
have silenced the Veyron camp for good,” Hennessey said.
“I’m
always looking at potential cars, but to do a standalone kind of car,
it doesn’t make sense for us right now,” he said. “All in, we might have
spent $4 million, $5 million on developing the Venom GT. The Pagani
Huayra, you’re looking at least at $25 million.”
“Look, if the car is cool, and the performance potential is there, we’re always interested.”
To read more about the Venom GT’s record run, pick up the April 2013 issue of Top Gear magazine.
HBC: The looks of the Car alone makes me feel queasy...265.7mph...Thats more than the take-off speed of an average size commercial Airplane...Meehn
Nne, i wan die, May God help them.
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