Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) will be at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas later today. The Houston-based car builder and modification expert will be bringing along three of its creations including an enhanced Hennessey Performance Venom GT, which took the crown off the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport as the fastest production car in the world, technically that is.
In February 2014, the Venom GT hit 270.49 mph and unseated the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport that charted 267.86 mph back in 2010. However, Hennessey isn't content with just edging the Veyron SS by a couple of seconds.
"Being the fastest matters," says John Hennessey, HPE's founder and president. "We are intent on keeping the Venom as the fastest, best performing and most exciting hypercar on the road."
On its way to the SEMA Show, the 2016 Hennessey Performance Venom GT had a little boost. The 2016 edition got bumped by 207 bhp, making a total of 1,451 bhp. Hennessey states that the increase in horsepower and torque is courtesy of the E85 Flexfuel that allows the car's 7-liter V-8 engine to 26 psi in pressure boost from 19 psi.
Bear in mind that when it unseated the Bugatti Veyron last year, the Venom GT had 1,244 ponies and 1,155 lb-ft of torque.
"A thousand torque is what you need to restart a dead planet," declares [video] Jeremy Clarkson.
Moreover, the current version of the GT still managed to maintain a sub-3000-lbs weight at just 2,743 lbs or 1,244 kg. Hennessey comments that the Venom GT continues to offer a power-to-weight ratio. With the boost in horsepower and all the other little tweaks, it is expected to go beyond the previous record and hit 280 mph. Hennessey anticipates that the car will do 0-60 in just 2.4 mhp seconds, 0-100 mph in 4.4 seconds and 0-200 in just 12.8 seconds. The 2016 Venom GT is also projected to finish a quarter mile in 9.4 seconds.
However, the company says that it only plans to produce a handful of the 2016 Venom GT for it is also working on the Venom F5, which Hennessey terms as its "next evolution."
Aside from the flagship hypercar, Hennessey Performance will also be showcasing the 2016 HPE750 Supercharged Ford Mustang Convertible, which is fitted with a 5-liter V-8 engine that outputs 774 ponies and can do 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds.
"[It] is the first and only 2015 Mustang to attain a verified top speed of 200 mph," says Hennessey. "One such car recently ran 207.9 mph on Jay Leno's Garage on CNBC."
Another automobile that will be tagging along is the 2016 VelociRaptor 650 Supercharged Ford F-150, which produces 650 ponies thanks to its 5-liter V-8 engine, and manages 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds. If you haven't figured it out yet, this is the improved version of the VelociRaptor that a former Top Gear presenter managed to wreck while trekking the frozen mountains of Canada. Do note that even with one less wheel, this beast of a pick-up truck still made it to the top.
Those who want to inspect the vehicles a little closer can do so later today at 10 a.m. PST, after the SEMA Show, which will be held at the Las Vegas convention center, formally opens. HPE's booth is numbered 60005, which is located near the main entrance.
