Move over Bugatti Veyron, the Hennessey Venom GT has been once again christened as the fastest production car in the world after breaking the world speed record at a top speed of 435.31 km/hr. The momentous run for setting the world speed record was held on the 14th of February, 2014 at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Venom GT was driven to the glorious achievement by former Michelin Tyre test engineer and race car driver Brian Smith.
Loosely based on the Lotus Exige, the Hennessey Venom GT is powered by a 7.0-litre V8 engine that pumps out a staggering, mind-numbing, 1244 HP of pure power and weighs exactly 1244 kgs. This results into a power to weight ratio of 1000 HP per ton. The Venom GT was accelerating even post the 435 km/hr mark, but had to be limited due to the restricted length of the runway. Out of the total 5.1 kms long runway, the two-seater hypercar was given about 4.1 kms to complete the run, while the rest 1 km was reserved to slow the car. Brian Smith said that if the car was tested on an eight-mile oval track, it definitely has the potential to keep going faster, 445 km/hr maybe?
However, in spite of defeating the Bugatti Veyron hands down, the Hennessey Venom GT does not qualify as the fastest production car to go into the book of Guinness World Records. In order to qualify, the car must make two runs in opposite directions with the average speed serving as the record time. In Venom GT’s case, the car only managed to do a single run in one direction, as that was the permission they received from the Kennedy Space Centre after two years of negotiations. Moreover, Hennessey have limited the production of the Venom GT to only 29 units, whereas a car to qualify as a production model needs to have at least 30 units on sale. The Texas based American company has already sold 11 cars so far (even Steve Tyler owns one).
Nonetheless, the Hennessey Venom GT has been bestowed the title of the world’s quickest car to accelerate to 300 km/hr, taking a mere 13.63 seconds. The company says that the next goal is to begin setting lap records at tracks around the world. Hennessey has priced the Venom GT at a staggering price tag of $1.2 million (Rs. 7 crores) for owning the ultra exclusive car. Check out the video below to see the Venom GT set the world speed record, a voice-over by John F Kennedy and the American flag soaring high.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWAavCjVQvM 540 375]
