Hennessey Sets Speed Record for Convertibles

Houston-based Hennessey Performance Engineering says it has achieved a new speed record of 265.6 mph for an open-top production vehicle with its Venom GT Spyder supercar.

The record run, which was set on March 25 at the naval air station in Lemoore, Calif., by test driver Brian Smith, easily bested the previous mark of 254 mph set by a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse in 2013. And it came close to the overall land speed record for a production car of 267.8-mph, which set by a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport in 2010.

A less-powerful version of the closed-top Venom GT topped 270 mph in 2014. But it didn’t qualify for a record because the car was driven in only one direction. Guinness requires vehicles to run back and forth within an hour, then averages the two times to determine an official speed.

Hennessey, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, launched the latest Venom GT at last year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas. The 2,700-lb car is powered by a twin-turbocharged 7.0-liter V-8 that kicks out 1,451 hp and 1,287 lb-ft of torque. At the end of the video of the record run, Hennessey also reveals the Venom’s successor. There was no word on when that vehicle will be launched or how fast it will go.