FIRST DRIVE: Hennessey Venom F5 - World’s Maddest Hypercar? 1817bhp 300mph+ Bugatti Rival | Top Gear

Say hello to John Hennessey's baby: a love letter to excess horsepower, but not in the form of a tuned truck or muscle car. This is the Hennessey Venom F5, an entirely bespoke extreme-engined hypercar capable of speeds in excess of 300mph. Powering it is an engine appropriately named 'Fury', a whopping 6.6-litre twin-turbo V8 producing 1817bhp. Weighing only 1360kg, the F5 is only 30kg heavier than a Ferrari F8 Tributo but with 1000bhp more. That equals some impressive performance figures: 0-62mph in 2.6s, 0-124mph in 4.7s, and an insane 0-250mph in 15.5s - that's nearly twice as fast as a Bugatti Chiron... Right, enough comparisons, time to strap Top Gear Magazine's Jack Rix to this rocket to see how it drives.

Chapters
0:00-0:58 Intro
0:59-1:39 Numbers
1:40-4:15 First Launch
4:16-7:14 Rundown
7:15-8:41 Road Test
8:42-9:52 Interior
9:53-10:54 Gearbox
10:55-11:39 Steering
11:40-11:56 Ride Comfort
11:57-11:38 Usability
11:39-14:06 In Town Driving
14:07-16:17 Outro

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[Spcyamigo]

Jeremy Clarkson would said something like “it weighs almost as much as the average American”

[Chunky_dunky]

I love the fact that they kept the beefy and American v8 but still make it very technical and fast

[alexturnqest]

I think what makes the f5 so cool is how raw it is. Everybody’s focused on the future and technology and hybridization. This is a gigantic middle finger to all of that. This is probably one my fav hyper cars I’d love to drive with a hot rodders spirit. Let’s go. 🔥

[chesspiece]

I met John and actually talked to him for a long time and didn't realize it while at TX2k waiting for the storm to blow over back when it was still at his facility Lonestar Motorsports Park. He really is a super nice, knowledgeable, and genuine seeming guy. We talked for 20-30 minutes and I had no idea who he was, I thought he was just another guy attending the event trying to stay dry.

[barrettoliver]

This is badass, I'm so glad cars like this are still being made

[thebigokie._]

The fact that it's a 6.6l Pushrod cam in block engine that turns 8500 RPM is awesome. Sounds like a solid roller cam setup at idle.

[isakhansen]

Bro nearly ran it straight off the runway, you could see the fear in his eyes😂

[NeedForSpeed.]

What I love about this car is that on the outside, it looks highly exotic & shit. But it sounds like a fully built dragster with an LS

[chupacabratx]

Having grown up around 20 miles away from Sealy, I’m impressed Top Gear took the time to go out there. Hope the crew enjoyed their visit!

[austinreed]

Richard Hammond is hard looking at this car.

[yrokelyod]

The power to weight ratio on this thing is INSANE.

[byates]

The F5 is absolutely gorgeous! Love it! Thanks!

[flyingphoenix]

A Battista, Concept 2, Nevera, or Evija probably "feels" quicker because of the shorter gearing, instant torque, and superior traction, but this thing is on a different level from those cars when it comes to outright speed, and it will dissapear into the horizon once you pass 200mph. The power to weight, top speed, low coefficient of drag, are all class-leading. I can't wait to see what this thing can do on a sufficiently long straight. Oh, and did I mention that it sounds incredible?

[TimDuncanRules]

As a Texan, topgear great job filming at a whataburger. You've done well.

[jplabs]

That gearbox, an automated manual type thing rather than a DCT, really rounds out the mad sound of the thing. I can’t say much about the car yet, but that sound with that gearbox makes me love it already.

[DroneStrike]

I love the shape of this car. Well done Hennessey.

[WyFoster]

You could see reading the speedo that the horsepower was definitely turned way down. 150mph in over a 1/4 mile is achievable with far less.

[Lostcause]

"Do I need to pay you some money?"
No people driving a £1.9M car get food for free. Lol

[letsgetdoing]

I remember Hennesey from back in the day when supraforums was the absolute KING of the internet and the Supra was at the peak of taking down American Muscle. This dude started and made his company buy robbing EVERYONE in the viper community. Literally just took their money with no intention of even doing anything to their cars. Never made amends for any of eat either. Him and overly expensive kit cars based of lotus can all go up in flames financially.

[C-M-E]

This car reminds me a lot of when the Agera was released by Koenigsegg (sounds rather similar, but not the point). Both companies were established with their own marquee supercars, but the 2nd effort was designed strictly to break molds. Not sure if the Venom quite matches up to Christian's fanatical design philosophy or attention to detail, but I'm glad it exists.