TEXAS RANGER

The Venom F5 Revolution is a track-focused but road-legal version of Hennessey’s phenomenal 1800bhp+ hypercar. Where to sample its extraordinary performance? Texas should be big enough...

- RICHARD MEADEN

TEMPTATION COMES IN MANY FORMS, BUT FEW SO seductive as this. After cresting a rise, the road unfurls ahead like a coarse, sun-bleached carpet. Two lanes wide, and straight for what must be a good three miles, it leads down onto a wide-open plateau like a shallow-angled alpine schuss. No traffic. No side turnings. Just wide-open country; a scene straight from every speed demon's wildest dreams.

We're driving through Texas Hill Country in the Lone Star State's very own hypercar, the Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution. A track-focused but very much road-legal version of the famously fast, needle-sleek F5 coupe, the Revolution's prominent aero package comprising a larger front splitter, dive planes, full-width adjustable rear wing and extended diffuser signals a clear shift in priorities.

It's not in the extreme aero league of a Valkyrie or Manthey-kitted 992 RS, but 363kg of downforce at 186mph is not to be sniffed at. Especially in a car weighing comfortably less than 1400kg. Somewhat hilariously, the Revolution is 'limited' to 250mph, at which speed downforce peaks at 635kg. Together with a more aggressive suspension geo setup for increased front-end bite, larger wheels and tyres for an increased contact patch and manually adjustable dampers for precise tuning, the Revolution is a uniquely formidable proposition.

To prove the point, Hennessey took it to the Circuit of the Americas F1 circuit and set a new production car lap record, eclipsing the Czinger 21C (which rather stretches the notion of 'production') by 0.43sec and previous record-holder the McLaren P1 by almost 7sec. It also hit 193mph on COTA's 1000-metre back straight. Gulp.