The guys at Hennessey Performance Engineering know that some things are just better topless, sports cars being one of them. Hennessey's pride and joy is its flagship 1200-hp Venom GT hypercar. How exactly do you make a car that's reportedly capable of 275 mph better? You take the top off and create the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder.
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Texas-based Hennessey didn't just take a Sawzall to a standard Venom GT and call it a day. Rather, it has engineered the Venom GT Spyder to have an easily-removable hardtop. Hennessey CEO Don Goldman said, "With the hardtop in place, the Venom GT offers a very visceral, raw, driving experience. With the hardtop removed, the wind and the growl of the twin turbo V-8 will offer our clients an even greater driving sensation."
That twin-turbo V-8 Goldman speaks of is of course a modified twin-turbo 6.2-liter LS9 V-8 from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. Under the Venom GT Spyder's gold-lined hood, the LS9 produces a staggering 1200-hp and 1155 lb-ft of torque. Hennessey President and founder John Hennessey told us that he believes the Venom GT is capable of hitting 275 mph, making it the fastest car in the world - he's just got to find a place big enough to prove it.
Hennessey will build five Venom GT Spyders - two of which are already spoken for. As expected, the Venom GT Spyder's price is a bit dearer than the $950,000 base price of the Venom GT Coupe, at $1.1 million.
While Hennessey has yet to release a YouTube video of the Venom GT Spyder on the dyno, it did just release this video of the Hennessey Chevrolet Corvette ZR750 producing 676-hp on the dyno -- enjoy.
Source: Hennessey
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
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