On March 25th, the new Hennessey Venom GT Spyder broke the open-top sports car speed record of 408 km/h set by the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse by reaching 265.6 mph (426.4 km/h) at a U.S. Navy runway in Lemoore, California.
Racelogic technical director Jim Lau certified the Venom GT Spyder as the world’s fastest convertible. Commander Darren Fouts, Air Operations Officer, served as a witness, while Ford Performance Racing School director Brian Smith was behind the wheel.
Back in 2014, the Venom GT coupe became the fastest sports car ever after achieving a top speed of 270.4 mph (434.5 km/h). It uses a twin-turbo 7.0L V8 engine producing 1,451 horsepower at 7,200 rpm and 1,287 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 rpm.
Hennessey now plans to offer a limited run of three “World Record Edition” Venom GT Spyders to commemorate the record run and as a tribute to the company’s 25th anniversary. The cost is set at $1.3 million USD (approx. $1.68 million CAD) apiece.
