HOUSTON: Hennessy Performance will be taking the wraps off what it claims is the world's fastest production car at the SEMA show in Las Vegas on Nov 1.
That is a huge boast, especially considering the current competition. As well as the Bugatti Chiron that exists purely to set new automotive superlatives, the phenomenal Koenigsegg Regera is yet to hit the track in anger and demonstrate what its 1,500hp V8 engine is genuinely capable of delivering.
However, in recent years, be it through the company's adept tuning work on existing cars from the Ford Mustang and F150 Raptor pickup to the Chevrolet Camaro and even a handful of McLarens and Lamborghinis, or via its first attempt at a world beating supercar - the Hennessey Venom, the company's founder and CEO John Hennessey has time and again proven he's a man of his word.
And for the Venom F5, Hennessey has said that the aim is to build a car that's capable of knocking on the door of 480kph.
That in itself is no simple engineering feat, but what will make the new car even more special is that it is the first to roll out of the Austin, Texas production facility that has been completely designed and built in-house.
The last Venom used a Lotus front end and doors but this car is a clean sheet design and while the company isn't quite ready to show the world exactly what the car will look like, it has provided a new teaser image. It shows a suitably aggressive rear end with large adjustable rear spoiler and triple exhaust ports plus LED taillights, an obligation on any modern-day performance car.
And considering the power and performance that the car is destined to have, a snapshot of its rear end is probably the most fitting image to provide ahead of the reveal because, if it does manage to bend the laws of physics sufficiently to hit the fabled 480kph mark, it's the only part of the vehicle that anyone - Bugatti owners included - is likely to ever see.
The 2017 SEMA show runs from Oct 31 to Nov 3. The Hennessy Venom F5 will make its global debut in the Shell Pioneering Performance Pavilion. For those who can't make it in person, the unveiling will be livestreamed on the company's YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.
