According to niche vehicle manufacturer Hennessey, its Venom F5 hypercar has successfully completed the first of three phases of intense development, with chief engineer John ‘Heinrocket’ Heinricy signing the car off for dynamic development.
The first phase of Venom F5 development began in February, concentrating on mechanical refinement, engine fine-tuning, steering and real-world aerodynamic validation. Initially taking place at Hennessey’s own test track in Sealy, Texas, the development then moved to the 3.5km runway of a former US Air Force base in Arkansas. Despite the engine’s power being restricted to just 900 hp – a mere 50% of the final 1,817 bhp output – the aerodynamic testing saw the F5 top 321km/h as part of its mid-speed refinement and coastdown program.
Heinricy said, “For more than 40 years I’ve been developing high-performance vehicles, yet nothing compares to the Venom F5. We’re making excellent headway in our mission to deliver a world-class hypercar to our customers that handles superbly, while managing its phenomenal power and speed with finesse.
“Every part of our development program is focused on making the Venom F5 the best it can be before customer deliveries start toward the end of this year. Our next phase is the most intense, concentrating on the car’s driving characteristics. We’ll split our testing between racetracks and Texas roads as we harvest data, refine every element and perfect this monster of hypercars.”
The second phase of development will determine the Venom F5’s agility, poise and driver feedback through a program of dynamic track and road driving. The company says it aims to harness the car’s power to enable it to perform as a ‘decathlete of the road’, with hundreds of miles of driving set to take place throughout the summer.
The development team will test on every type of road, with the car’s high-performance dynamics fine-tuned at several racetracks including Laguna Seca in California and Circuit of The Americas (COTA), which is less than 161km from the Hennessey Performance base in Sealy.
John Hennessey, company founder and CEO, said, “With almost all Venom F5 models in the 24-car production run already sold, we’re focused on delivering an all-round hypercar to our customers that rivals the best in the world. I’m proud of our team of engineers who will achieve this mission guided by the infinite experience of John Heinricy. His engineering, racing and high-performance vehicle development skills will shape the Venom F5’s dynamic capabilities to match its immense power.”
The Venom F5 is set to make its global public debut at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, May 22-23, midway through its development program. Following road and track testing this summer, the final phase will take place in the autumn to refine the car’s full-power acceleration, high-speed stability and braking. Once the engineering team signs off this final development phase, Hennessey has its sights set on a top speed exceeding 500km/h.
