Hennessey Venom F5's carbon chassis weighs as much as Steph Curry
CEO and founder of Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) John Hennessey has pegged the famous Quail Motorsports Gathering during the 2020 Monterey Car Week for the debut of the production version of the Venom F5 supercar. Only 24 examples will be built for the world, and each one will cost at least $1.8 million. HPE has already shown the the conceptual shape of the car, as well as its (claimed) 1,800-plus-horsepower engine, and now for the first time, the public gets a glimpse at the car's skeleton, a carbon-fiber chassis that weighs less than 200 pounds.
As of January 20, 2020, Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) has three customer-bound Venom F5 supercars in production, with testing scheduled to begin in the second quarter of the year. Under the skin of each will be this structure, an all-new clean-sheet chassis made up entirely of carbon fiber weave impregnated with polymers. The entire thing only weighs 189.6 lbs, or about the listed weight for NBA superstar Steph Curry, and Hennessey claims its torsional rigidity is approximately 38,353 lb-ft of torque per degree. It'll need every bit of strength for what HPE has in mind for the supercar.
The initial goal with the Venom F5 was to break 300 mph, but during the time the car has been in development, Bugatti went ahead and broke that mark by hitting 304 mph in a Chiron. Not one to be outdone, Mr. Hennessey now says he wants his creation to reach at least 310.7 mph, which equals a nice, round 500 kph.
In order to do this, the car needed something bigger and badder than the 1,600-plus-horsepower engine shown back in 2017. Powering the current Venom F5 is a bespoke Hennessey Specialty Vehicles twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V8 with custom lightweight internals and 3D-printed titanium compressor housings. Hennessey says it makes 1,817 horsepower and 1,193 lb-ft of torque, and it has been dubbed Fury.
When the car is complete, 12 will be sold to the American market, and the other 12 will go to international clients. Lucky for interested parties, Hennessey says there are still open slots for U.S. customers. Once the initial run of F5 coupes is distributed, Hennessey will likely shift its focus to altering the chassis you see here to accommodate the demands of a Venom F5 Roadster.
Oh, one last thing: Turn the volume down before watching that video above or your ears might start bleeding.
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