Hennessey has revealed what it claims to be the fastest convertible ever created: a roofless variant of the stripped-out, track-focused 1817bhp Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution.
Called the Venom F5 Revolution Roadster, it takes the crown from the standard, road-going Venom F5 Roadster – which the firm says can achieve a top speed of over 300mph – as the world’s fastest open-top.
The limited-run $3 million (£2.4m) roofless Revolution track car – all 12 examples of which are already sold – arrives in the same year as the coupé track car, itself a stripped version of the standard record-breaking F5 Venom to further increase performance.
The Revolution Roadster offers an “unmatched visceral driving experience”, said founder Jon Hennessey, and like the $2.7m (£2.3m) coupé has been created to crush lap records.
As such, the ‘Fury’ 6.6-litre V8 returns – with reworked cooling like the coupé track car – mid-mounted in the same carbonfibre tub. Power is sent to the rear wheels using the same seven-speed automatic gearbox, but this has now been calibrated for competitive use.
With the Roadster, like its standard road-going namesake, the car has received a host of changes to keep it as competitive as the coupé. These are focused on generating more downforce, such as significantly larger front and rear splitters and dive planes on the front fascia.
Another example is that top, which comes in the form of a removable carbonfibre panel to keep it as light as possible. Weighing just 18kg, the panel is secured with four quick-release bolts and two high-strength latches to withstand the hypercar’s “staggering acceleration capabilities and aerodynamic forces at extreme speed”, said the firm. Inside, it is lined in Alcantara upholstery pointing to the track car’s luxury positioning.
Hennessey also focused on stripping out the track-honed open-top, to make it, alongside its track sibling, the lightest Venom F5 variant yet. It weighs less than the 1360kg road-going models, although the firm wouldn’t confirm by how much or what was changed to make it lighter.