Hennessey reveals 'monstrous' Venom F5 R
Lighter, sharper Venom 'Revolution' keeps 6.6-litre Fury V8, promises even more madness
You know how it goes for a circuit-optimised version of a supercar: take a little weight out, add some expensive suspension, boost the turbos a little and make sure the rear wing is enormous. The new Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution scores three out of four on that score; the engine is left untouched, meaning buyers must make do with the modest 1,842hp you get in the standard model.
As with every car from Porsche GT3 RS to McLaren GTR, downforce is the name of the game for the F5 Revolution. That enormous, adjustable rear wing, complete with its stars-and-stripes end plates, plus a larger front splitter, longer rear diffuser and new front dive planes contribute to more than 635kg of downforce at 249mph; at 186mph, the figure is more than 362kg. And with almost 1,850hp, reaching 186mph on a track doesn’t sound entirely ridiculous. The Revolution also gets forged alloy wheels, more aggressive geometry and adjustable dampers as standard.
Furthermore, in case more than three times the power of a 911 Turbo and a chunk more downforce wasn’t enough, Hennessey has also taken weight out for this car. It doesn’t specify how much is saved over the standard Venom, only stating that there has been ‘a systematic focus on weight reduction’, with a final figure of less than 3,000lb - or just 1,360kg. Which is an outrageous figure for a car with so much power.
Hennessey’s John Heinricy, the chief engineer who you might have seen doing crazy speeds on video in a Venom, has said of the new car: “From the outset, we designed the Venom F5 hypercar to be ultra-light and monstrously powerful, with dynamics to match. So, taking these ingredients and adding track-focused aerodynamics, suspension, and gearing, enabled us to create a machine that is the ultimate visceral and emotional driving experience.” Crikey. His sentiment is echoed by boss John Hennessey: “It offers the nimbleness of a fighter jet, yet with a powerplant like a Saturn V rocket!”
As with all other Venoms, there won’t be very many Revolutions. Hennessey says it’ll make just 24, just like the standard F5, and each of these new ones will cost $2.7m, or about £2.2m. It’s going to debut at the Miami Motorcar Cavalcade Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, though apparently just a handful of Revolutions remain, with some spoken for ahead of the official reveal. So don’t be surprised if there’s also a Revolution Roadster to satisfy demand…
Genuine question, just never heard of them setting scintillating lap times at any track or anything.
I wonder what it's like on this....
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