The Hennessey Venom F5 is a sports car developed and manufactured by the American vehicle-manufacturing company Hennessey Special Vehicles which was established in 2017.[5] Hennessey has contracted with Delta Motorsport of Silverstone, England for the development of the vehicle, which will be the company's first all new proprietary vehicle as an accredited titled manufacturer.[6][7] Delta Motorsport also produced all of the previous generation Venom GT cars for Hennessey at its facility in England.[8]
The F5 name is a reference to the F5 tornado, the highest rating on the Fujita scale, attaining wind speeds as high as 261–318 mph (420–512 km/h).[9] Hennessey as a manufacturer aims to reach top speeds in excess of 311 mph (500 km/h) to attain the title of world‘s fastest production car.[10][11][12]
The Hennessey Venom F5 was first revealed in August 2014.[13] Subsequently, it was shown as an exterior mock-up at the American SEMA Show in Las Vegas on November 1, 2017. This did not contain an engine or an interior.[14]
The available transmission is a CIMA[15] 7-speed single-clutch automated manual transmission with paddle-shifters, driving the rear wheels, making the car rear-wheel drive.[16]
The chassis and body will be made almost entirely of carbon fiber. Active aerodynamics are now paired with the body, a first for Hennessey. The weight reportedly stands at 2,950 lb (1,338 kg) with fluids, setting the power-to-weight ratio at 1,358 hp per ton.[17] Because of the use of active aerodynamics and a sleek, new design it has an estimated drag coefficient of Cd=0.33.[18] For the production F5, this was increased to a claimed Cd=0.39.[19]
Hennessey has also placed great emphasis on interior space, quality and comfort, and that despite offering extreme performance the vehicle still will offer a spacious and comfortable interior experience that can accommodate tall and large drivers and passengers. It was mentioned that an undisclosed NFL player, who has only been described as being 6'7" tall, has placed an order for one of the first models once full production has commenced.[20]
Each Venom F5 comes with the "Treasure Chest", a giant aluminum box containing the key fob, a magnetic trickle charger, and a tow hook. The key fob's serial number plate is made from a metal component that was disposed from a Space Shuttle launch. Company founder John Hennessey was given the component by an astronaut and broke it into pieces to give Venom F5 owners "a piece of space".[21]
Production will be limited to 24 units, 12 of which were already sold by December 2020. The price of the car in the United States was initially US$1.6 million, but later increased to US$2.1 million for the remaining 12 units.[4] Eight cars are planned to be built and delivered in 2021. In August 2021 the company officially announced that it had customer orders for and sold all planned 24 units of the F5.[22][23][24][25][26]
On July 30, 2024 the Venom F5 broke the standing 1⁄2 mile (805 m) record with a time of 14.44 seconds at 219 mph (353 km/h). This record was set in Florida, United States driven by John Hennessey.[27]
