Thoughts on Hennessey's 0-300 km Acceleration World Record

It's fascinating to think what a car making Bugatti Veyron power could do if it weighed a lot less. To find out, John Hennessey dropped a 1,244 horsepower twin-turbo Corvette V8 motor in a stretched Lotus Exige weighing only 2,743 lbs, which is less than two-thirds the weight of a Veyron SS. This Hennessey Venom GT just set a new 0-300 km Acceleration World Record!



Quick Facts:

1. The Veyron SS makes 1,184 BHP. The Venom GT makes 1,244 BHP.
2. The Veyron SS weighs 1,888 kg. The Venom GT weighs about 1,200 kg (2,743 lbs).
3. The Venom GT hit 0-300 km/h (186 MPH) in just 13.63 seconds!
4. The last 0-300 km/h record at 14.53 seconds was held by the Koenigsegg Agera R.
5. The Hennessey reached 200 MPH in 14.51 seconds, which is also an unofficial record for a production car (unofficial because Guinness only measures speed records in km/h.)
6. 0-60 mph can be reached in just 3.05 seconds, if you can make the tires stick. On subsequent tests, the Venom GT reportedly spun after the upshift to second gear and went off into the grass off the runway.

This world record is a fantastic achievement for any car! But it's beyond us how a stretched Lotus Exige with a diabolically different motor could be considered a production car. Who's naive enough to think that aside from Steven Tyler, anyone is crazy enough to buy this "production car"?  And if you can't keep it going in a straight line, what good is it for street or track?! But who are we to argue if it's production, production-based, or a tuner car -- the goofy-looking Guinness World Records guy in the video has a British accent, so he must be right! We only have one question really:

If this is a production car, why is it called a Hennessey Venom GT?!

Just for kicks, we'll have to find out if our project Exige S still qualifies as a production car. If we turn up the boost high enough and hold it there for 13 seconds, we might be able to challenge the Venom GT. At 2,100 lbs vs. the Venom's 2,743, it won't need a 1,244 horsepower twin-turbo Corvette V8 motor either. And I bet you can keep it going in a straight line and even get it to turn well on the track. Maybe a lapped timed contest around Watkins Glen then?

Related posts:
A Lotus Gone Wild: How an A/C Leak Turned into a 400-WHP Monster - Part I
A Lotus Gone Wild: How an A/C Leak Turned into a 400-WHP Monster - Part II
A Lotus Gone Wild: How an A/C Leak Turned into a 400-WHP Monster - Part III
A Lotus Gone Wild: How an A/C Leak Turned into a 400-WHP Monster - Part IV