Zac Quinn 
The Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution is a spectacular example of a hypercar. With an astonishing 1,817 horsepower and 1,193 b-ft of torque from its 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged V8, it is exquisite regarding acceleration and braking. It is so fast that it has just made a new official lap record around the Circuit of the Americas with racing driver David Donohue behind the wheel.
Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Lap Record: Details
According to The Drive, John Hennessey stated that his namesake company wasn’t there to break any records with the Venom F5 Revolution; they were testing the capabilities of the car that they have been fine-tuning over the past few years. Using Racelogic Vbox satellite telemetry, the hypercar did a 2:10.90 lap around COTA on road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, Shell pump ethanol, and standard Pennzoil fluids. Even with pump ethanol and road tires, the Venom F5 hit 193 mph on the back straight and reached 1.6 lateral G-forces through the corners.
The tires are an important distinguisher for this lap record, considering the non-road legal compounds the Ford GT Mk IV used to circle COTA over 12 seconds faster than the Venom F5, and with less than half of the horsepower. Tires are everything.
However, the official lap time was achieved while babying the car through the corners, which isn’t all that surprising as 1,200 lb-ft of torque through the bends would overwhelm even the stickiest of Michelins. Even while taking it easy on the corners, the Venom appeared to be a handful for Donohue, especially with a single-clutch automated manual, which has a kick to it.
Despite these factors going against the car making a good lap time, it has managed to set a new official record, which begs the question, just how well would the Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution fair if it could get a better grip, be it improved downforce, track tires, or all-wheel-drive. We’ll see Hennessey return to the legendary Circuit of the Americas track for another attempt, with improvements made to the car, and perhaps they’ll shatter their record. Check out the video below to watch this spectacular car make history.
