The Hennessey Venom GT Spyder becomes the fastest convertible in the world

Can you imagine driving a car at 427 kilometres per hour? If the answer is no, better not ask yourself whether you can visualise yourself driving at that speed in a convertible.

Well, you should know that, although you may not be able to picture it in your mind, it is possible. In fact, that is the world top-speed record for a convertible that the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder has just achieved. Beating by about 18 km/h the previous record held by a certain Bugatti Veyron Super Sport Vitesse.

It is not even the first top-speed record for the Hennessey Venom GT either, since the coupé variant was able to reach no less than 435 km/h in a similar test, a top speed that has yet to be surpassed.

The brand wanted to celebrate its 25th anniversary in a special way, and boy did they do it. They have organised the best birthday party possible. To break this record, Brian Smith, the Director of the Ford Performance School, took the controls of what is now the fastest convertible in the world at Lemoore Naval Air Station, a runway nearly 3 miles long, or 4.6 kilometres. The company in charge of certifying the top speed of 427.4 km/h was Racelogic.

The mechanics of this “super-roadster” consist of a 7-litre twin-turbo V8, which develops no fewer than 1,451 CV of maximum power and 1,745 Nm of torque. All this “horsepower” is transmitted to the wheels, fitted with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres, through a six-speed manual gearbox. Its top speed is simply spectacular, but no less striking is the acceleration from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 96.6 km/h), taking just 2.4 seconds to cover that distance; or from 0 to 200 mph (0 to 321 km/h), which can be achieved in barely 13 seconds.

Hennessey intends to sell a limited edition of just three units of this Venom GT Spyder to commemorate the brand’s 25th birthday. Without further details, they stated that the price of each unit will be close to 1.3 million dollars.

Source | Hennessey Performance