Hennessey – making fast cars faster for 30 years
In 1991 John Hennessey modified a 3000GT VR4 and went on to set a world-class record at Bonneville and then also won the Unlimited Class at the Silver State Open in Nevada.
Over the past 30 years, Hennessy has enhanced hypercars for more than 12 000 customers.
John Hennessey, company founder and CEO, said “At the end of 1991, looking back at that year of motorsport, I realised I’d learned the first rule of auto racing – if you want to make a small fortune in racing, start with a larger one! To continue my passion, I knew I’d have to find a way to pay for it. So, I thought, if Carroll Shelby and Alois Ruf could make a living by building and modifying cars then maybe I could too – that’s how our company began.”
Hennessey will use the F5 as a basis to develop and take the brand into the future.
He said, “Hennessey Performance is like one big family to me, and our fantastic customers are a big part of that. As we celebrate 30 years of business, I’m thankful for every customer and my whole team who’ve all contributed to us becoming a hypercar manufacturer and world-renowned, high-performance, vehicle-tuning business.”
Hennessey’s top 10 cars of all time
1. Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 – 1991 – The car that started it all.
Hennessey competed in Pikes Peak; Nevada Open Road Challenge (4th); Bonneville Salt Flats (class speed record of 284,79km/h (177mph); Silver State Challenge (overall winner, averaging 177mph over the 90-mile race).
2. “Fly Navy” Venom 1000 Twin Turbo: introduced 2005; stock base – Dodge Viper
Won Road & Track supercar shootout, beating a Bugatti Veyron, with 338,21km/h (210,2mph) top speed.
3. VR1200: introduced 2012; stock base – Cadillac CTS-V
Hennessey “tested” a new Texas Toll Road with its VR1200 running 355,58km/h (221mph).
4. HPE600 Corvette C7: introduced 2013; stock base – Corvette C7 Stingray
In 2013, Hennessey was the first to break 321,8km/h (200mph) in a C7 with his supercharged Corvette Stingray on a closed Texas toll road.
5. Hennessey Venom GT: introduced 2010
Built by Hennessey; 0-482,7km/h (0-300kph) in 13,63 seconds, a Guinness World Record; 435,21 (270,49mph) verified top speed – world’s fastest car 2014-2017.
6. VelociRaptor 600: introduced 2012; stock base – Ford Raptor
The start of Hennessey’s truck tuning; 0-100km/h (0-60mph) 4,2 seconds; 600hp.
7. The Exorcist: introduced 2017; stock base – Chevrolet ZL1 Camaro
1000hp; 883lb-ft torque; 0-100km/h (0-60mph) 2.1 seconds; top speed 349,153km/h (217mph).
8. VelociRaptor 6X6: introduced 2017; stock base – Ford Raptor
$350 000; upgraded suspension; 600hp upgrade with twin turbochargers.
9. Hennessey Heritage Edition Mustang: introduced 2018; stock base – Ford Mustang GT350R
Hennessey’s 10 000th car; 808HP; 0-100km/h (0-60mph) in 3,3 seconds.
10. Hennessey Venom F5: introduced 2021
100% bespoke Hennessey hypercar with 1817hp V8; 1336hp-per-ton; target +500kph 500,39km/h (311mph) top speed; 0-482,27km/h – 299,27km/h (186mph) in 8,4 seconds.
Source: Newspress
