After an extremely long teaser and development campaign, the 2021 Hennessey Venom F5 hypercar made its world debut at the end of 2020. The car's performance specifications were impressive as advertised, courtesy of a 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged "Fury" V8 pumping out 1,817 horsepower and 1,193 lb-ft of torque. With only 2,998 pounds of dry weight to haul around, Hennessey believes the car can surpass 311 mph (500 kph), outmatching the official speed set by the SSC Tuatara.
Though the car was finally revealed in production form, it still needs to finish three phases of intense development at the hands of Chief Engineer John 'Heinrocket' Heinricy (of Corvette fame). The Venom F5 just completed its first round of testing, focusing on refinement, engine fine-tuning, steering calibration, and real-world aerodynamic measurement.
Hennessey began testing the car at its home test track in Sealy, Texas, before moving to a 2.2-mile runway located at a former US Air Force base in Arkansas. Here at the Air Force base, the Venom F5 achieved impressive speeds, even with a massive caveat. With the engine restricted to 900 hp, less than half of its available output, the Venom F5 easily reached 200 mph as part of its mid-speed refinement and coast-down testing. It's hard to believe this car is so potent; it outclasses most supercars without using half of its potential power.
The second development phase will move to the race track, concentrating on the car's agility, poise, and its ability to give driver feedback. Hennessey wants the Venom F5 to be more than fast in a straight line; it's aiming to make this car a "decathlete of the road."
Hennessey's development team will unleash the full fury of the Venom F5's engine during the second development phase. The Venom F5 will be fine-tuned on Laguna Seca in California and Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Texas using advanced telemetry and data logging equipment.
"For more than 40 years, I've been developing high-performance vehicles, yet nothing compares to the Venom F5. We're making excellent headway in our mission to deliver a world-class hypercar to our customers that handles superbly while managing its phenomenal power and speed with finesse," says Heinricy.
Once the road and track testing conclude over the summer, the final development phase in the fall will focus on refining the car's full-power acceleration, high-speed stability, and braking, culminating in a top speed run to achieve over 500 kph and a new world record for production cars.
The Venom F5 will make its global public debut on May 22 and 23 at the Amelia Island Concours Elegance in Florida. This will be a rare opportunity to see the car, as nearly all of the 24 planned examples are already sold.