2011 Hennessey Venom GT: First Look

Jay Williams - 15/April/2010

Texas, United States - Tuning company Hennessey Performance has recently released a short clip of its Venom GT supercar in action.

The vehicle is based upon the Lotus Elise and combines a high-tech, lightweight British chassis with a powerful American V8.

The key to performance is to reduce weight and that's exactly what the team over at Hennessey Performance have done. The Venom GT weighs in at around 1,071 kilos, this is achieved by its lightweight carbon fibre bodywork and carbon fibre wheels.

Under the bonnet lies a supercharged 6.2-litre LS9 V8 (the same as in the Corvette ZR1) retuned to produce 540kW of power. There will also be a 745kW and 895kW twin turbo V8 engine variants available. The mid-engine V8 will send power to the rear wheels via a Ricardo 6-speed gearbox.

Pulling the Venom GT to a stop will be the Brembo brakes with 6-piston calipers up front and 4-piston calipers in rear clamping down on 15-inch carbon ceramic rotors.

Other technical features include a programmable traction control system, CFD (computational fluid dynamic) tested bodywork, adjustable rear wing with automatic deploy and an adjustable suspension system.

Hennessey plans to build the power plants at its Texas facility. The engines will then be shipped to the company's assembly facility near Silverstone, England where the Venom GT is built and tested.

The company will establish a network of Venom GT dealers and distributors in the Middle East, Europe, Russia, Asia and Australia. However production is limited to just 10 vehicles per year.

Related Links:
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- Lotus Evora: Loved By Celebrities (2009)
- Lotus Evora (2009)
- Lotus Project Eagle (2009)
- Lotus Elise SC (2008)
- Lotus Europa SE (2008)
- Lotus Exige Sport 240 (2007)
- Lotus Europa S (2006)
- Type 72 Lotus Elise (2002)
- Lotus Elise (2001)