Hennessey Sets Standing Half-Mile Speed of 219.07 MPH
The company's CEO was behind the wheel during part of the test...
Hennessey Special Vehicles has achieved a standing half-mile speed of 219.07 mph with CEO John Hennessey behind the wheel of his Venom F5 coupe. Recorded via Racelogic VBOX satellite telemetry and backed-up by Dragy performance data, the capability of Hennessey’s “decathlete of hypercars” was underscored by test driver David Donohue, who managed 221.92 mph in the half-mile acceleration test, according to the company.
As part of the company’s engineering development program, Hennessey piloted the Venom F5 Coupe for one of the half-mile runs, which also saw an acceleration time of 6.81 seconds from 100 to 200 mph.
“This was my first opportunity to pilot the Venom F5 beyond 200 mph while testing. I did not intend to go so fast, but I was not surprised as our hypercar’s power and acceleration cannot be described in words. Our test driver, David Donahue, may even have achieved a world record speed for the distance. We will go back to NASA later this year when it’s cooler as I expect F5 to be even faster,” said Hennessey.
Hennessey’s testing update comes just days after YouTube creator Steve Hamilton pitted a Rimac Nevera and Bugatti Chiron Super Sport against each other in a drag race. Speed data from that test showed the Venom F5 was 15 mph faster than the Nevera (206.77 mph) in the standing half mile and 28 mph ahead of the Chiron (193.67 mph) over the same distance, according to company officials.
The dusty, unprepped surface impeded off-the-line traction, while the 80- to 90-degree temperatures were far from ideal. The Venom F5 coupe is powered by a 6.6L twin-turbo V8 engine named “Fury” that produces 1,817 bhp on E85 biofuel. Power is put to the tarmac via street-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires.
Back in March, a Revolution coupe confirmed the Venom F5’s track capability by setting a new production car lap record of 2:10.90 at Circuit of The Americas. The company then turned its engineering focus to a push toward the car’s 300-plus-mph V-max, building on the 271.6 mph set during its development.
With the fastest production car lap record at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and the fastest production car half-mile record now achieved, the Hennessey team can push harder still to break the boundaries of speed and performance. The company has already built and delivered 23 Venom F5 coupe, roadster and Revolution models to customers across the U.S. and around the world, with a further 17 orders booking out build slots through 2024-25, the company noted.
While all coupe and Revolution roadster models are sold out, potential buyers can still apply to own a Venom F5 roadster and Revolution coupe variant at hennesseyspecialvehicles.com.
