Engine for ‘fastest car on Earth’ revealed
Hennessey-built 7.6-L twin-turbo V8 gunning for top speed beyond 420 km/h
“More than 1,600 horsepower.” That is how much horsepower, at 7,200 rpm, the new Hennessey-built 7.6-litre twin-turbo “F5” V8 will produce, says the company.
Just let that number sink if for a second. That’s the equivalent of a Ferrari 812 Superfast and a Dodge Challenger Demon in one engine bay.
In development for nearly five years, the F5 project has been a close collaboration between the Texas tuners, and Shell and Pennzoil. The goal of the Venom F5 project is to produce the fastest car on Earth.
“We’re feeling confident in our quest to set new records in 2019,” said Hennessey namesake — and chief executive — John Hennessey during the engine’s official unveiling at The Quail during Monterey Car Week.
Along with that horsepower, the Venom F5 produces a mammoth 1,300 pound-feet of torque as it aims — in theory — to become the first production car to break the 420 km/ h mark.
Machined from aluminum, the block features precision ballbearing twin turbos with billet compressor wheels, stainless steel turbo headers, and a dry sump oiling system.
The Venom F5 hypercar meanwhile — which made its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March — is all new from the ground up, featuring a lightweight chassis (curb weight is just 1,340 kilograms), carbon-fibre bodywork, and more efficient aerodynamics than the F5’s predecessor for maximum drag reduction.
Zero to 100 km/ h? Pah! More impressive is the zero-to-200 time, clocking in at under 10 seconds.
There will be only 24 examples of the Venom F5 produced, 15 of which have already been sold, priced at $1.6 million each.