Hennessey Planning On 500KMH Top Speed With The Venom F5

When the Hennessey Venom F5 was first teased at, the American tuning company told us that the goal would be to hit 300mph. This would of course blow the Veyron and Chiron out of the water, as well as the Koenigsegg Agera RS.

But despite the car not actually hitting 300mph yet, they’ve set their sights even higher than the big three tonnes. In a recent interview with Motor Authority, John Hennessey, owner of company, said the following:

“I’d like to run 500 kph. Which is 311 [mph] and change.”

Does this seem achievable? Well the F5’s 7.4-litre V8 has been tested at 2,000hp, and because the car weighs so much less than the Chiron, it doesn’t need as much power to reach the same speeds.

“Currently our CFD testing and our engineers tell us we need about 1520 horsepower to break 300,” Hennessey said.

So, if you believe what he’s saying, it won’t take much for the car to reach the target 500kmh. That being said, Bugatti’s excuse for not attempting their top speed run yet remains the tyres, which can’t yet handle the forces of those speeds. The aero of the car and of course its power all add up, but who’s to say the tyres will be available? Hennessey has stated that because this car is a lot lighter than its German challenger, the tyres aren’t such an issue, yet I still feel doubtful. As I’m sure a lot of you do, too.

Another issue revolves around the space needed for this 311mph run to take place. Nevada boasts large stretches of road, but is there a flat enough and straight enough road to carry out a test at this level of speed? I’m not sure.

Hennessey isn’t the only company working towards breaking the top speed record. Koenigsegg insists that their Agera RS can break 300mph, and Bugatti are only waiting on tyres. SSC are also gunning for it, but Hennessey has a simple answer:

“The bullshit stops when the green flag drops,” he says.