Hennessey Performance Engineering · 2010–2014
Hennessey Venom GT
The Hennessey Venom GT is a high performance sports car manufactured by US manufacturer Hennessey Performance Engineering. The Venom GT is based on the Lotus Elise/Exige.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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Specifications
=== Chassis === The Venom GT has a heavily modified Lotus Elise/Exige chassis. The Venom GT retains many Elise components including the roof, doors, side glass, windscreen, cockpit, floorpan, HVAC system, wiper and head lamps, although the manufacturer is not associated with Lotus Cars. For road use the car is registered as a Lotus Exige (modified) and is not a series production car. The Venom GT has a curb weight of 2,743 lb (1,244 kg) aided by carbon fiber bodywork and carbon fiber wheels. The brakes have Brembo 6-piston calipers at the front and 4-piston calipers at the rear. The rotors are 15 in (380 mm) carbon ceramic units provided by Surface Transforms. Drivetrain. The Venom GT is powered by a twin-turbocharged 376 cu in (6.2 L) GM LS9 V8 engine or 427 cu in (7.0 L) GM LSX V8 engine in either supercharged or twin-turbo-charged specification. The LS9 architecture incorporates specific design features such as reinforced internal components and additional head bolts with aluminum heads including twin Precision dual ball bearing turbochargers. The engine in twin-turbocharged specification has a power output of 1,244 hp (928 kW; 1,261 PS) at 6,600 rpm and 1,155 lb⋅ft (1,566 N⋅m) of torque at 4,400 rpm. Engine power output is adjustable by three settings: 800 hp (597 kW; 811 PS), 1,000 hp (746 kW; 1,014 PS) and 1,200 hp (895 kW; 1,217 PS). The engine has a redline of 7,200 rpm. The mid-mounted engine is connected to the rear wheels by a Ricardo 6-speed manual transmission, as used in the Ford GT. A programmable traction control system manages power output. Computational fluid dynamics tested bodywork and downforce also help keep the car stable. Under varying conditions on both the road and racetrack, an active aero system with adjustable rear wing will deploy. An adjus
Venom GT Spyder
The Venom GT Spyder is an open top version of the Venom GT. Having decided to order a Venom GT, Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler approached Hennessey in mid-late 2011 and asked if an open-top version could be created. This involved structural changes which added 30 lb (14 kg) to the curb weight. Tyler's was the first of five cars scheduled for the 2013 model year. The car was later put up for auction on January 20, 2017 and was sold by Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona for US$800,000. For the 2016 model year, the Spyder gained 207 hp (154 kW) for a total of 1,451 hp (1,082 kW). The production of the Spyder was supposed to be limited to five units with a one-off Spyder being produced as the "Final edition" model. Ultimately only 4 Spyders were completed, with the last 3 not officially being named as spyders, but do feature the structural reinforcements to allow it.
Venom GT "World's Fastest Edition" (2014)
The Venom GT "World's Fastest Edition" is a version of the Venom GT coupe limited to 3 units. The model commemorates the Venom GT coupe's 0–300 km/h Guinness World Record. The vehicle went on sale for US$1.25 million. All three units were reportedly sold to customers shortly after their production was announced by the manufacturer. However, none of the cars were built.
Venom GT "Final Edition" (2017)
A single unit of the Venom GT Spyder, called the Final Edition, was produced to commemorate the car's six year production run and to mark an end to the production of the Venom GT. The engine output is the same but the curb weight has been decreased by 9 lb (4 kg). The car is painted "Glacier Blue" with double narrow white stripes. The vehicle was reported to be sold however the car was never built.
Production Controversy
The production history of the Venom GT has been the subject of conflicting information. Contemporary Hennessey material stated that twelve road-going Venom GTs were produced alongside one prototype, for a total of thirteen vehicles. Hennessey's January 2017 announcement marking the end of production specifically described the final car as the thirteenth vehicle. However, subsequent chassis-level research has identified seven production cars and one prototype, accounting for eight individual Venom GTs. The frequently repeated figure of thirteen therefore appears to reflect the production plan and/or historical reporting rather than thirteen individually identifiable completed cars. Earlier Hennessey material also described plans for a considerably larger production run. In 2014, Hennessey stated that production would ultimately be limited to 29 cars, while earlier promotional material referenced substantially larger intended production numbers. The distinction between planned production, reported production, and individually identifiable completed chassis is important when discussing the total number of Venom GTs.
Successor
The Hennessey Venom GT was succeeded by the Hennessey Venom F5, which was unveiled in November 2017. Unlike its predecessor, the Venom F5 is a series production car, built completely from the ground up, including chassis and engine.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.
Specifications
- name
- Hennessey Venom GT
- Manufacturer
- Hennessey Performance Engineering
- Production
- 2010–2014, 8 units (4 Coupes (Counting the Prototype) and 4 Spyders)
- Model years
- 2010–2014
- Assembly
- Hethel, England (chassis components), Sealy, Texas, United States
- Class
- Sports car (S)
- Body style
- 2-door coupe, 2-door roadster (Spyder)
- Related
- Lotus Elise, Lotus Exige
- Layout
- Longitudinal rear mid-engine rear-wheel-drive
- Engine
- 427 cuin twin-turbocharged LS7 V8
- Transmission
- 6-speed Ricardo manual
- Wheelbase
- 110.2 in
- Length
- 183.7 in
- Width
- 77.2 in
- Height
- 44.7 in
- Kerb weight
- 2743 lb (Coupe), 2773 lb (Spyder)
- Successor
- Hennessey Venom F5
- Designer
- Steve Everitt
- Top speed
- 435 km/h
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2626290CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennessey_Venom_GTCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1375793442 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hennessy_Venom_GT_-_Flickr_-_Supermac1961.jpgCC BY 2.0 · Photo: Supermac1961 from CHAFFORD HUNDRED, England · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Manufacturer website (link only) — https://hennesseyperformance.comLink only; no content copied · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.