Hennessey Special Vehicles, the Texas-based hypercar manufacturer, has set a new road car lap record at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) with a blistering 2:10.90 lap of the 3.41-mile-long racetrack.
Breaking the previous COTA road car lap record* by 0.43 seconds makes the track-focused Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution the fastest ever road-going hypercar around the Texan circuit. The flying lap surpassed the 2:11.33 time, recorded by a Czinger C21, plus outpaced the previous McLaren P1 record (2:17.12) by almost seven seconds. During the record-breaking run on March 11, ‘America’s Hypercar’ also hit exceptional speeds on the 1,016 meter-long back straight, achieving 193.10 mph.
Right from launch, Hennessey set out to build ‘the Decathlete of Hypercars’. The objective for the 1,817 bhp twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V8 hypercar was not only to surpass 300 mph, but to also be a highly capable track car. Driven by the manufacturer’s in-house test driver, David Donohue, the Venom F5 demonstrated the extent of its capabilities pulling up to +1.59 G in the corners and -1.61 G under braking. This extreme performance was achieved on street-legal MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires and utilized Brembo brakes, carbon ceramic discs, and the latest Bosch ABS technology to brake from almost 200 mph safely and under control.
Donohue’s proven racing skills, combined with the car’s 2,998 lb (1,360 kg) lightweight construction, saw the hypercar aggressively tackle the undulating track and technical corners. Where the circuit straightened, the immense power from Hennessey’s ‘Fury’ engine enabled the record-breaking time – the Venom F5 can accelerate from 0-200 kph (0-124 mph) in just 4.7 seconds.
John Hennessey, company founder and CEO: “Racing, and life, is often more about the journey than the destination. Seeing the Venom F5 take the production car lap record at our home circuit has been an important part of our journey with the F5. We don’t do these things because they are easy, we do them because they are hard. The process of pushing our American hypercar to the limits makes our team of engineers, designers, and technicians better while also delivering an enhanced product and experience to our clients. We look forward to continuing the journey and pushing the Venom F5 to set new speed records in the future.”
Engineering of the track-focused Revolution variant of the Venom F5 was led by Hennessey’s VP of Engineering, Brian Jones who joined the company in 2023 from his prior posting as Chief Engineer for the AMG ONE. Brian and the Hennessey engineering team worked to optimize the set-up of the Venom F5 to tackle the full 3.41-mile long Grand Prix Circuit.
Compared to its Coupe sibling, the lighter and track-honed Revolution features a full-width rear-mounted carbon fiber wing, a significantly larger front splitter and rear diffuser, plus reworked, suspension, engine cooling, and digital telemetry. It also features dive planes ahead of each front wheel that channel air to improve grip at turn-in. Plus, the Revolution has a roof-mounted central air scoop, which delivers cool air to the F5’s engine bay.
David Donohue, Hennessey Hypercar Test Driver: “Having been part of developing the Venom F5 Revolution, I knew it was capable of a quick time, but when it came to pushing the car hard, I was blown away by its phenomenal power and exceptional handling. There is no other car in the world that delivers such a visceral and engaging driving experience.”
American racing champion David Donohue joined Hennessey in 2023 as its Hypercar Test Driver. The 2023 Pikes Peak record-setter has more than three decades of racing experience, including first place wins at 24 Hours of Le Mans, the North American Touring Car Championship, and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
For the record-setting lap, independent, third-party timing was conducted by RACELOGIC using their VBOX satellite telemetry and data logging systems. Further verifying the run, the RACELOGIC team captured unbroken video footage of the record lap – the complete video is viewable on the Hennessey YouTube channel. The Venom F5 Revolution that completed the fastest road car lap ran on street legal tires, used regular Shell pump ethanol, and was filled with standard Pennzoil fluids.
Ade Ajala, President, Shell Lubricants Americas: “The whole Shell Penzoil team is honored to be associated with Hennessey and fully supports the team’s efforts to push the boundaries of hypercar speed and performance. We are very proud that Pennzoil Platinum is under the hood of the powerful Venom F5, and we wholeheartedly support this outstanding achievement – seeing the Venom F5 achieve a COTA lap record confirms this is truly a decathlete of hypercars.”
Design, specification, and assembly of each Venom F5 is carried out just 100 miles from COTA at Hennessey’s HQ in Sealy, Texas. Hennessey has already built and delivered 22 Venom F5 Coupe, Roadster, and Revolution models to customers across the U.S. and around the world. A handful of build slots remain for Roadster and Revolution variants while all Coupe models are sold out.
Now, having established the track-based credentials of ‘America’s Hypercar’, the company is set to push towards the car’s +300 mph V-max. In development, the Venom F5 achieved more than 270 mph at the former NASA Shuttle Landing Facility at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The search is now on for a runway or public road with a sufficiently long strait to allow the 1,817 bhp twin-turbo V8 monster to accelerate beyond 300 mph and return to zero safely.
Potential buyers can apply to own a Venom F5 Revolution or Roadster at HennesseySpecialVehicles.com. Alternatively, interested parties can call Hennessey on +1 979.885.1300, or contact the company’s network of U.S. and international retailers.
