A Strong Urge to Go Faster
The current state of the auto industry suggests that many buyers now place greater importance on in-car technology and comfort features – some even calling Apple CarPlay a dealbreaker – than on outright performance.
Despite these shifting priorities, there are still brands that remain deeply enthusiastic about the automobile itself. Among them is Hennessey Performance Engineering, which has gone so far as to say it has a responsibility to continue pushing boundaries and breaking records.
In an interview with CarBuzz, company CEO and founder John Hennessey admitted that chasing speed records is inherently dangerous. Still, he also acknowledged that each new benchmark can inspire others – particularly younger generations. As he put it, “It’s something that we can do to inspire other young people out there.”
Speed Wars at Full Throttle
Some of the company’s most notable achievements include accelerating from 0 to 300 km/h (around 186 mph) in just 13.63 seconds in 2013 and reaching a top speed of 270.49 mph the following year—both accomplished by the Hennessey Venom GT. This extreme performance car, which uses an LS-based 7.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, went head-to-head with hypercar heavyweights such as the Koenigsegg Agera R and Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
The Venom GT’s successor, the Venom F5, went on to post several records of its own. Among them was a standing half-mile run completed in 14.44 seconds at 219.07 mph, a feat notably driven by John Hennessey himself. Power comes from a 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged V8 rated at 1,817 horsepower, though the more recent F5 Evolution variant is claimed to produce up to 2,031 horsepower.
Where the Obsession Began
Hennessey has said that his desire to go fast was shaped in part by five-time world land speed record holder Craig Breedlove, who became the first person to exceed 600 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats during the 1960s. He has also cited inspiration from President John F. Kennedy’s famous words: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
While Hennessey continues to chase new records, he has emphasized that the effort is rooted in friendly competition rather than rivalry, noting that he enjoys seeing other manufacturers set new benchmarks as well. That attitude was recently on display when the company set what it described as the fastest speed ever achieved by a road-legal car carrying a Christmas tree, done in a Chevrolet C8 Corvette ZR1.
