Hennessey unleashes 1,200hp from Shelby GT500
Fastest Mustang ever not fast enough? Hennessey has found another 400hp...
Once upon a time, it seemed that ever-increasing outputs from OEMs would put paid to a lot of aftermarket tuning. Who would need more when standard cars already had hundreds and hundreds of horsepower? Turns out that belief was nonsense; Hennessey, true to its mantra ‘making fast cars faster’ has turned its attention to the 760hp Shelby GT500. And made a 1,200hp one.
In fact, this Venom 1200 has a little more than advertised. Its 1,204 imperial horsepower rating is 1,220hp in metric, or twice the output of a Huracan RWD. This Mustang retains just two driven wheels, moreover, which will surely face something of a one-sided battle against 902lb ft. It’s a miracle they stopped spinning long enough to get the pictures, but it promises to be a good giggle if nothing else. Just take it easy leaving car meets.
Hennessey has conjured up these amazing numbers with extensive upgrades to the Voodoo 5.2 flat-plane-crank V8 found in an ordinary GT500. Naturally, the supercharged is bigger - now 3.8-litres - and the Venom also benefits from higher flow induction to feed that chunkier ‘charger, new fuel rails, beefier injectors and a host of heavy-duty ancillaries to contain 58 per cent more power than standard. Interestingly, the standard dual-clutch gearbox has been subjected to nothing more than a recalibration, which is impressive given how much more potent this 1200 is. According to Hennessey, in fact, Ford ‘leaves much of the vehicle's potential untapped’ when it leaves the factory, so it’d almost be rude not to exploit it, really.
Hennessey plans to convert 66 Shelby GT500s into Venom 1200 spec; the Daytona homage livery seen here is $5k on top. But the package itself doesn’t seem an awful lot of money, at least in the grand scheme of 1,200hp cars: give Hennessey a Shelby and $60,000, and you’ll get a Venom 1200 in return. Given there are already GT500s for sale in the US for $85k, the potential is there for a 1,220hp Mustang just like this one for $150,000. Or less than £130k. This might be a tad disheartening, but there is hope: a GT500 has been imported to the UK, and it’s for sale on PH. It’ll take more hassle and more cash to give it Veyron Super Sport power, yes; but where there’s a will, there’s a way…
Are you sure about that? Because when they leave the ford factory they have a cross plane crank. The gt350 is the only mustang with a flat plane crank and that was dropped for the gt500 because it shakes itself to bits and would be even more unreliable when boosted. The gt500 engine is called the Predator, the Voodoo is specific to the gt350.
Also… I suspect the ford engine dyno is somewhat more accurate than the Hennessey dyno. It’s quite normal for tuners to be slightly optimistic / fanciful when it comes to stating their own bhp numbers. 1200hp is a lovely round number that looks great in a brochure in bold letters, whereas 983hp would look like you missed your target. 1200hp means a staggering amount of boost, which in turn means massive heat soak with a PD blower, which in turn means that 1200hp is only available for very short, perfectly timed runs. The stock power will be there consistently and with a warranty. I know which I would prefer.
Are you sure about that? Because when they leave the ford factory they have a cross plane crank. The gt350 is the only mustang with a flat plane crank and that was dropped for the gt500 because it shakes itself to bits and would be even more unreliable when boosted. The gt500 engine is called the Predator, the Voodoo is specific to the gt350.
Are you sure about that? Because when they leave the ford factory they have a cross plane crank. The gt350 is the only mustang with a flat plane crank and that was dropped for the gt500 because it shakes itself to bits and would be even more unreliable when boosted. The gt500 engine is called the Predator, the Voodoo is specific to the gt350.
I've seen countless videos online of 900bhp+ Mustangs drag racing against other metal with that power and after 2 or 3 runs the Mustangs always go into limp mode, for one mode), the torque was literally causing panels to come off the car (Youtube Shelby Super Snake Widebody, the channel is Throttle House).
My 2018 had 416bhp which was more than enough and I never felt I truly needed more power on the road. Of course, if I were offered another 800bhp I wouldn't say no, but the car was plenty fast enough to enjoy with stock power.
They've had their ups and downs but they've produced some good cars.
Ref this particular Mustang though the wheels and tyres just look too wide. A 1250hp Mk2 Golf which does 170mph/ 8.2s utilises std width 15" steels and the traction is just fine.
As ever though , vanity wheels sells cars...
The drawback nobody has mentioned is how often you will need to fill up with 1200 hp or whatever. The regular car loves a drink, 10mpg is not unusual at all.
The drawback nobody has mentioned is how often you will need to fill up with 1200 hp or whatever. The regular car loves a drink, 10mpg is not unusual at all.
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