Hennessey reveals Venom GT supercar

Texas tuner Hennessey Performance is taking a page out of the playbook of Carroll Shelby--drop a huge American V8 into a lightweight British chassis. The result is the Hennessey Venom GT, which melds high-performance Chevrolet Corvette and Lotus technology into a furious supercar.

Borrowing from the Cobra's now-iconic template, the Venom GT broke cover on Monday and will come with the ZR1's supercharged 6.2-liter V8 modified to push out 725 hp. That's nestled into the lightweight Lotus body, and the total will tip the scale at less than 2,400 pounds.

Hennessey will also offer versions that make 1,000 hp and 1,200 hp with twin-turbo V8s, and the car will have a mid-engine configuration.

Hennessey Performance
The Hennessey Venom gets Brembo brakes and weighs less than 2,400 pounds.

Just 10 copies of the car will be built per year, the company says, and it has orders for four so far. The engines will be tweaked at the Hennessey facility in Texas and then shipped to England for assembly with the chassis.

The Venom GT also gets Brembo brakes with six-piston calipers front and four-pot rear. The rotors are carbon ceramic. The car will ride on Michelin PS2 tires and have a six-speed gearbox.

Buyers can get a one-day track orientation at a U.S. or UK site.

By Greg Migliore