SEALY, Texas — Texas tuner John Hennessey doesn't do anything halfway. Take his latest supercar-in-the-wings, the Hennessey Venom GT, which he describes as "an extremely modified version of the Lotus Exige S."
Hennessey Performance Engineering is promising some hair-raising performance numbers for the two-seater, including up to 1,200 horsepower from the Hennessey-tweaked, twin-turbocharged Corvette LS9 V8 and a 0-60 time in the vicinity of 2.4 seconds.
The car itself will be stretched nearly 2 feet and widened by nearly 12 inches, according to Hennessey, who plans a formal unveiling next March at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show. Curb weight will be held under 2,500 pounds.
Hennessey already is installing a 755-hp version of the supercharged LS9 in the company's ZR750, a modified edition of the Corvette ZR1. The Venom GT will get a mid-mounted twin-turbo variant of the supercharged 6.2-liter V8, packing 1,000 hp in street trim and 1,200 hp in race trim on race fuel, driving the rear wheels through a six-speed manual box. Top speed should be somewhere north of 270 mph, according to Hennessey.
The Venom GT should be supercar quick. How quick? How about 0-100 in 5.3 seconds and 0-200 in 14.3 seconds?
The price may also take your breath away. The base sticker is $600,000, including a $200,000 down payment and a second $200,000 due about halfway through the projected nine-month build process. That 1,200-hp racing engine will cost you another $125,000, and Hennessey will be happy to convert the whole thing to right-hand-drive for a mere $24,500.
A straight-faced Hennessey proclaims: "It goes without saying that I am not the first Texan to come up with the idea of marrying a powerful American V8 with a lightweight British chassis. However, I am confident that automotive fans around the world will find our forthcoming Venom GT to be every bit as earth-shattering as the 289 AC Cobra was back when Mr. Shelby debuted it to the world."
'Nuff said.
Inside Line says: Ol' Shel may soon have some serious competition — from Ol' Hen. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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