2011 Hennessey Venom GT

2011 Hennessey Venom GT

2011 Hennessey Venom GT

2011 Hennessey Venom GT

2011 Hennessey Venom GT

Venom GT is a mid-engined supercar incorporating the passenger-cell structure of the Lotus Exige within a bespoke space frame chassis designed specifically to accept modified versions of GM’s 6.2-liter LS9 V-8 engine. While the previous images of a matte-gray prototype made it tough to make out the Venom GT’s visage, the silver paint on car #01 shows off a menacing shape. It also reveals a surprising amount of actual Exige parts, including not just the cabin structure but also its headlamps, taillamps, doors, and be-snorkeled roof.

Venom GT’s proportions are wildly different from the Exige’s, stretching nearly 34 inches farther stem to stern, with a full nine inches of newfound width, too. The fenders have swollen into billowing pontoons and there’s a longer, more canted snout. Air ducts around the car have been enlarged to accommodate the GT’s substantially greater cooling and air-management requirements, and a huge, retractable rear wing has been added. An adjustable suspension can snug the Venom GT’s body 2.4 inches lower over the fat, 235/30 front and 335/30 rear Michelin PS2 rubber, which wrap around a stunning set of 20-inch rims. Still, from any angle, it’s tough not to think modified Exige first, true exotic second. Indeed, according to one of our staffers, looking at the Venom GT is “just like looking at an Exige, only through a fisheye lens.

Venom GT packing the twin-turbocharged LS9 is roughly 700 pounds heavier than an Exige (the 725-hp supercharged version saves 42 pounds versus the turbo car). Hennessey had hoped to bring it in with a curb weight of 2400 pounds, but, honestly, what’s a few hundred pounds when you’re bombin’ around with two to three times the horsepower of a BMW M3 and a power-to-weight ratio of an unfathomably low 2.2 pounds per horsepower? Indeed, a Venom GT with a Suburban strapped to its roof could probably out-accelerate most sports cars.

Hennessey estimates that the 1030-hp car should be able to hit 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, and then double that velocity within 7.0 seconds. While top-speed testing has yet to be completed, Hennessey tells us that its computer models predict the ability to reach 262 mph, which would render it one of the fastest “production” cars ever. Venom GT #01 could be even faster, ordered as it was in the so-called “top-tier” 1200-hp twin-turbo trim, which produces 1135 lb-ft of torque. Hennessey plans to verify its claims sometime next year, we are told.

Venom GT bit Hennessey chose not to divulge until now is the price, which starts at $725,000 for the supercharged model, $850,000 for the 1030-hp twin-turbo version, and a cool million if you want all 1200 ponies. Of course that includes an individually tailored interior, a two-year/24,000-mile warranty, and, presumably, a sound system better than the crappy one found in the Exige.