We all know Hennessey’s Venom F5 can go fast in a straight line – over 483 km/h according to the Texas firm – but now it wants to prove it can do corners, too. Meet the Venon F5 Revolution, a lighter, grippier addition to the F5 family. Unlike some rival circuit-focused supercars, which aren’t homologated for road use, Hennessey says the Revolution has been designed to perform on both road and track. But the extensive aerodynamic mods fitted to improve downforce leave us in no doubt about which of those environments the Revolution will do its best work.
The most visible of those tweaks is a new
manually adjustable full-width carbon fiber rear wing that delivers more than 363 kg of downforce at 400 km/h. But it’s far from the only
aero modification. The sub-1,361 kg Revolution also gets a larger
front splitter, dive planes and an extended rear diffuser. Hennessey claims the
splitter helps create a low-pressure vortex beneath the floor by preventing air
flowing beneath the bumper, again adding to the vertical squish felt by the
tires.
There are no changes to the
twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter ‘Fury’ V8, which makes the same 1,817 hp it does in other F5 applications and again drives the rear wheels through an
automated single-clutch transmission. But on the Revolution that engine is
cooled by air drawn in through a roof-mounted snorkel. Stopping comes courtesy
of large carbon ceramic brake rotors. The Revolution was fine tuned by John
‘Heinrocket’ Heinricy, a former GM engineer who previously oversaw development
of critically acclaimed cars like the Corvette Z06 and Cadillac CTS-V, but even
he admits he’s never dealt with anything quite as rapid as the F5 Revolution.
Hennessey plans to build only 24 examples
of the Revolution, which has a base price of US$ 2.7 million, putting it midway
between the standard US$ 2.1 million F5 Venom coupe and the US$ 3 million Roadster.
some of those 24 have already been allocated, and there’s a chance a few more
build slots might find owners when the car makes its global debut at the Miami
Motorcar Cavalcade Concours d’Elegance on January 15.
