Hennessey Venom claims new lap record at COTA

‘The decathlete of hypercars’ is how John Hennessey likes to refer to his company’s supercar known as the Venom F5 – it’s meant to be Olympic standard around the world, not just straight line racing. To prove the point, the Revolution variant has been sent to the Circuit of the Americas, just 100 miles from Hennessey HQ, and driven faster than any other road car. 2:10.90 is not an officially sanctioned record, but it is supported by Racelogic VBox data logging. and videos; just as importantly, it is a few tenths quicker than the Czinger C21 and 6.2 seconds ahead of the McLaren P1’s lap of 2:17.11. Which is not a slow car.

This was also not a custom track, with features not available for production models. Or rather, the Revolution’s hardware – Brembo ceramic brakes, Michelin Cup 2 R tyres, a major aero upgrade over the Venom – instead points to strong circuit skills. The combination of over 1,800hp and under 1,400kg would always ensure good performance, too. So much so that, in fact, the Revolution almost seems to be slowly going through the cracks; it’s not, but the speed in a straight line is so incredible that it can also be pushed around a corner. Similarly, the brakes seem to close earlier because the high speed has increased. Yet the figures show a maximum of 1.59g on the side and 1.61g under the brakes for the height – the Revolution just distorts the perspective. It reached 193mph down the COTA back straight.

On duty was David Donohue, Hennessey test driver and Le Mans class winner back in the day. He said on the lap: “Having been part of the development of the Venom F5 Revolution, I knew it could be fast, but when it came to pushing the car hard, I was blown away by its incredible power and exceptional handling. There is no other car in the world that offers such a pleasant experience and interesting to drive.

It could certainly make one heck of a track day supercar, if that angry V8 ever passes a single noise test. Interestingly, the regular Venom F5 Coupe is on sale, with 22 cars in three different variants – Roadster, Coupe, Revolution – now delivered. A few ‘build slots’ are still out there for the Roadster and Revolution for those who want to stand out among the Porsches, Ferraris and McLarens on the circuit. There’s more to come, too. John Hennessey added: “Seeing the Venom F5 take the lap record for a production car at our home circuit has been a key part of our journey with the F5… The process of pushing our American car to the limit is what our team of engineers, designers and. excellent technicians while also delivering an improved product and experience to our customers. We look forward to continuing the journey and pushing the Venom F5 to new speed records in the future, right?