2013 Hennessey Venom GT To Pack 'Over' 1,500 Horsepower
BY Kurt Ernst
Nov 26, 2012
Did you ever wonder how much fun a stretched Lotus Elise platform would be if you shoehorned in a twin-turbo Chevy LS V-8 engine? Tuner extraordinaire John Hennessey wondered the exact same thing, and hence the Hennessey Performance Venom GT was born.
As the car heads into its third year of production, Hennessey is planning a few changes for the 2013 model year. From the outside, it’s hard to miss the car’s double-bubble roof, which increases headroom for taller drivers. Doors now swing upwards, thanks to dihedral hinges made popular by the Lamborghini Countach.
The big news, however, is under the hood. As GT Spirit tells us, 2013 Venom GT models will come with a Chevy-sourced, twin-turbo 7.0-liter V-8, producing “over” 1,500 horsepower. Buyers get a choice of a seven-speed, paddle-shifted automatic transmission or a Ricardo-built six-speed manual gearbox.
If you’re keeping score at home, that’s better than one horsepower per kilogram of weight, the magic number behind Koenigsegg’s upcoming One:1 supercar. While new performance numbers haven’t been released, we’d bet the 2013 Venom GT will best the 2012’s 0-62 mph time of 2.2 seconds and top speed of 262 mph.
Aside from the changes to the car’s roofline, the Venom GT will look much the same in 2013 as it did in 2012. That’s a good thing, since the shape has been refined in a wind tunnel, and its active rear wing ensures the necessary downforce at speed.
Hennessey Performance is currently building its tenth Venom GT, which goes to show that the cars are indeed a success among buyers who can afford such lofty levels of performance. It’s not yet clear if the powertrain changes will carry over to the Venom GT Spyder as well, but we suspect the answer is yes.
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