Our friends over at Hennessey have been busy! Hennessey's design guru, Nathan Malinick, wasn't kidding when he said the Venom F5 was gunning for more than just top speed records this year. Buckle up, because the first of those records has fallen! The Venom F5 just became the fastest street-legal production car to scorch the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, smashing the 3.41-mile track in a jaw-dropping 2:10.90 on March 11, 2024.
In this epic showdown, the Venom F5 left the Czinger 21C eating dust by 0.43 seconds and obliterated the McLaren P1 by almost seven seconds.
Behind the wheel was none other than racing legend David Donohue, who joined the Hennessey team in December 2023 with a mission to shatter records. During this record-smashing run, the Venom F5 hit a blistering top speed of 193.1 mph on COTA's 0.63-mile main straight, pulled up to 1.59 Gs of lateral acceleration in the corners, and hit 1.61 Gs under braking—all on street-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires.
The beast for the day? The Venom F5 Revolution, a hypercar fine-tuned for track domination. This bad boy weighs in at a lean 2,998 lbs, sports a custom aero package with a full-width rear wing, reworked suspension, enhanced cooling, and a roof scoop feeding the ferocious 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged Fury V8 engine.
And yes, this rocket was fully street-legal, fueled by regular Shell pump ethanol and running on standard Pennzoil fluids. The lap time was verified by Racelogic using the VBOX data logging and telemetry system, and you can catch the unbroken video of the record run above.
COTA, just 100 miles from Hennessey's HQ in Sealy, Texas, was the perfect stage for this record-breaking debut. When the Venom F5 was launched, John Hennessey dubbed it the 'decathlete of hypercars'—not just a one-trick pony. This lap record is just the beginning, with more to come, no matter the challenge.
Next up? Potential records at Laguna Seca and Pikes Peak, where Donohue's previous record-setting prowess in the Race to the Clouds could come into play. With engineering mastermind Brian Jones, formerly of the Mercedes-AMG One, Hennessey has the brains to back the brawn across various circuits and challenges.
And let's not forget those straight-line speed records. The Venom F5 is gunning for a 300+ mph top speed this year. It already hit 270 mph at NASA's Shuttle Landing Facility, but the quest for another 30 mph demands serious safety measures.
Check out the video of the lap!