First Impression: Hennessey GT1000 Twin Turbo

The Ford GT has a supercharged 5.4L V8 and goes 205 mph. John Hennessey decided that he could get more out of the Ford GT by adding two turbochargers to an already supercharged engine. The result is a 1000 hp monster known as the Hennessey GT1000 Twin Turbo.

I saw the Hennessey GT1000 Twin Turbo at the January 2011 edition of Houston Cars and Coffee. Several Hennessey tuned cars were at the event because Hennessey was revealing his Venom GT. I walked by a GT with GT1000 decal on the side and my dad thought it was a replica of the Ford GT40. Other than the twin turbochargers and GT1000 on the side decal where it would normally say Ford GT, the GT1000 Twin Turbo looks just like the Ford GT.

The Hennessey GT1000 Twin Turbo is powered by a supercharged, twin turbocharged 5.4L V8, paired with a six-speed manual transmission, that produces 1000 hp and 865 lb-ft of torque. The GT1000 goes from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds and reaches a top speed of 242 mph. Prices for the GT1000 start at $225,000. This is a very fast car, and it costs the same as a Ferrari 458 Italia.

The Hennessey GT1000 Twin Turbo was featured on Battle of the Supercars where it was being compared to a Hennessey Viper Venom 1000 Twin Turbo. It has not been featured in video games.

Final Thoughts: The Ford GT was a great car, and adding two turbochargers makes the GT one hell of a car. The Hennessey GT1000 Twin Turbo is in hypercar territory. The GT1000 is faster and quicker than the McLaren F1 and for the fraction of what the F1 costs. However, only a handful of Ford GTs would be tuned to the GT1000 Twin Turbo, so those who get the GT1000 Twin Turbo will be very lucky.

CarJunkie
Photo taken from albumok.hu

First Impression: Hennessey Viper Venom 1000 Twin Turbo

Hennessey is known for taking high performing cars and tuning them to get even more performance out of these cars. Hennesssey has down work on the Nissan GT-R, Chevrolet Camaro, Ford GT, and many other cars. Hennessey has also added two turbochargers to the Dodge Viper, calling it the Hennessey Viper Venom 1000 Twin Turbo.

I saw the Hennessey Viper Venom 1000 Twin Turbo at the January 2011 edition of Houston Cars and Coffee. Hennessey brought several of his tuned cars at the same event where he revealed the Hennessey Venom GT. It had the hood up and I saw two turbochargers connected to the Viper engine. I cannot believe that someone would add two turbochargers to an already fast Dodge Viper. 

The Viper Venom 1000 is powered by a twin turbo 8.55L V10 engine that produces 1000 hp and 1,100 lb-ft of torque. It goes from 0 to 60 mph in 2.72 seconds and reaches a top speed of 255 mph. It failed the California emissions test, so it is legal in 49 of the 50 states. The price for one of twenty-four Hennessey Viper Venom 1000 Twin Turbo is $187,710. The Hennessey Viper has 500 more hp and 575 more lb-ft of torque than a stock 2003 Dodge Viper. The upgraded Viper costs about $100,000 more than a stock Dodge Viper. The Hennessey Viper is bargain for cars that go over 250 mph. The Viper Venom is faster than the original Bugatti Veyron and is one of the fastest cars from the United States. The SSC Ultimate Aero (257 mph) and Hennessey Venom GT (267 mph) are faster than the Hennessey Viper Venom 1000 Twin Turbo.

The Hennessey Viper Venom 1000 Twin Turbo was being compared to the Hennessey Ford GT 1000 Twin Turbo on Battle of the Supercars. The Viper Venom GT 1000 Twin Turbo is playable in Blur.

Final Thoughts: John Hennessey is a genius for seeing the full potential of the Dodge Viper. By adding twin turbocharges, Hennessey doubled the horsepower and more than doubled the torque of the Dodge Viper. The Viper Venom 1000 is a cheaper, faster alternative to the Bugatti Veyron. Whoever gets one of the 24 Viper Venom 1000 is very lucky and will enjoy this Viper.

CarJunkie

Photo was taken from Motor Trend.

First Impression: Chevrolet Camaro

During the Muscle Car Wars of the 1960s and 1970s, American car brands had a muscle cars and pony cars. Pony cars were affordable, compact, highly stylish, and high performing cars. In 1964 Ford launched the Mustang, the car that started the pony car. In 1966, Chevrolet revealed the Camaro. In 2002, Chevrolet ceased production of the Camaro. In 2009, Chevrolet revived the Camaro name and released the fifth-generation of the Camaro which was based on the 1969 Camaro. The new Camaro gives Chevrolet and GM a muscle car that can compete with the Ford Mustang and the Dodge Challenger. In 2011, the Camaro was available with a retractable softtop. Like the Camaros of the past, the current generation comes with  3.6L V6 and 6.2L V8 engines with different power outputs.

I see several fifth-generation Camaros at Houston Cars and Coffee events and on the roads. This is a very popular car. I love the styling of the new Camaro. The angle of the windshield could hinder the visibility of Camaro drivers and has been a major criticism of the Camaro. I sat in one at the 2011 Houston Auto Show and had no problem looking through the windshield. It is comfortable to sit in the front, but there is not much leg room for passengers sitting in the back.

The fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro is powered by 2 different 3.6L V6 engines and 6.2L V8 engines. The Camaro uses either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission. The V6 engines produce either 312 hp or 323 hp. The V8 engines produce between 400 hp and 550 hp. 0-60 times for the Camaro range from 4.6 seconds to 6.1 seconds. The top speed for the Camaro ranges from 150 mph to over 180 mph. Prices for the Camaro start between $22,000 and $40,000, depending on the trim level. The price is very low for a high performing muscle car.

The fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro can be seen in all three Transformers films. It is the vehicle form of the Autobot Bumblebee. It has been reviewed on Motorweek and has been featured on Jay Leno's Garage. Richard Hammond reviewed the Camaro SS during Series 15, Episode 3, where Hammond compared the Camaro to a Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG. The fifth-generation Camaro is playable in almost every major racing game. It is playable in the Burnout games, Need For Speed Games, Test Drive Unlimited 2, Gran Turismo 5, Blur, Split/Second, Dirt 3, Transformers movie games, Project Gotham Racing 4, ModNation Racers, Forza Motorsport 3, and many other video games.

Final Thought: The fifth-generation Camaro is a very stylish muscle car with good performance. It continues the Camaro tradition of offering several options so there is a Camaro for all types of drivers. I did not like that the first Transformers movie was just a 2-hour commercial for the new Camaro. I already know that the Camaro is a good car. I don't need to waste money on a film that is just a long car commercial.

Hennessey Camaro Convertible

Hennessey is also offering different tuning packages for the new Camaro. Prices start at $4,950 for 475 hp package and go to $69,950 of the 1000 hp package. John Hennessey stop by Jay Leno's Garage to show off one of his tuned version of the Camaro, called the Hennessey Camaro HPE600. I saw the Hennessey Camaro at the April 2011 edition of Houston Cars and Coffee. The Hennessey Camaro is for those who want a little bit more performance out of their stock Camaros.

CarJunkie
Photos taken from a camera phone

First Impression: Hennessey Venom GT

John Hennessey is a mad genius.  In his shop in Sealy, Texas, he will take a Ford GT, add two turbo chargers to an already supercharged engine, and turn it into the Hennessey Ford GT 1000.  He will also take a Dodge Viper and tweak the engine to produce 1000 hp and calls it the Hennessey Viper Venom.  His newest project involves modifying a Lotus Exige and putting a monster 6.2L Corvette engine and adding two turbo chargers to the engine.  His creation is called the Hennessey Venom GT.

Hennessey revealed the Venom GT at the December edition of Cars and Coffee of Houston.  This was the main attraction at the event.  This car got more attention than any other car at the event.  The Venom GT got more attention than the Rossion Q1, Ariel Atom, Tesla Roadster, a Hennessey Ford GT 1000, and several Ferraris, Cobras, and Lambos.  There was a constant crowd around the Venom GT.

Hennessey took a Lotus Exige, added a 6.2L LS9 supercharged V8 engine found in the Corvette ZR1, added two turbochargers, and added a 6-speed transmission.  He will have 3 engines, one producing 750 hp, another producing 1000 hp, and the top of line engine producing 1200 hp and 1155 lb-ft of torque.  The Car has a curb weight of 2685 lbs.  With the light-weight of the car and the power of the engine, the Hennessey Venom GT goes from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, reaching a top speed of 267 mph.  Prices start at $600,000, a bargain compared to the $1.9 million Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.  The Venom GT has the same performance as the Veyron Super Sport, but at a fraction of the price.

Hennessey brought his Venom GT to Jay Leno's Garage.  The video can be seen at www.jaylenosgarage.com. Videos of the car can be seen on Youtube, including the dyno test. 

Final Thoughts:  Great Car.  Unlike the Volt, the Venom GT will live up to its expectation and compete with the other high performance vehicles.  It has great performance for its price.  Those lucky enough to get 1 of the 29 Venom GTs will get a very fast car.

CarJunkie
Photo taken from a camera phone

Hennessey�s Tire-Shredding HPE500 Supercharged Ram Truck on Film

The tuners over at Hennessey Performance have always had a thing for boosting anything that rides on four wheels. More recently, the Texas-based tuning firm applied its technical wizardry on the Ram Truck. The result is the Hennessey HPE500 Supercharged Ram, which as implied by its name, features a supercharged version of the Chrysler Group�s 5.7-liter Hemi V8 producing 505-horsepower at 5,400 rpm.

The tune include numerous standard upgrades such as a sport exhaust and Hennessey embroidered seats, along with various optional parts like different alloy wheel and tire combos and suspension systems. While we�re waiting for Hennessey to pit the HPE500 Supercharged Ram against a stock Nissan GT-R or a Porsche 911 Turbo, you can watch the powerful pickup truck in some tire shredding action in the video after the break.

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Hennessey�s Tire-Shredding HPE500 Supercharged Ram Truck on Film

The tuners over at Hennessey Performance have always had a thing for boosting anything that rides on four wheels. More recently, the Texas-based tuning firm applied its technical wizardry on the Ram Truck. The result is the Hennessey HPE500 Supercharged Ram, which as implied by its name, features a supercharged version of the Chrysler Group�s 5.7-liter Hemi V8 producing 505-horsepower at 5,400 rpm.
The tune include numerous standard upgrades such as a sport exhaust and Hennessey embroidered seats, along with various optional parts like different alloy wheel and tire combos and suspension systems. While we�re waiting for Hennessey to pit the HPE500 Supercharged Ram against a stock Nissan GT-R or a Porsche 911 Turbo, you can watch the powerful pickup truck in some tire shredding action in the video after the break.

Hennessey VENOM GT Concept Car

Hennessey Performance Engineering has announced that their Venom GT Concept will be officially unveiled at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The car is equipped with a V8 engine which capable to produce 1200bhp. The Venom GT is expected to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 2.4 seconds before hitting a top speed of 272 mph (440 km/h). If Hennessey is correct, the Venom GT will easily surpass the Bugatti Veyron's top speed of 254 mph (408 km/h). Should that fail to impress you, Hennessy also says the Venom GT will accelerate from 0-100 mph in 5.3 seconds, 0-150 mph in 8.9 seconds, and 0-200 mph in 14.3 seconds.

In order to achieve these insane performance figures, Hennessey strictly followed the idea of creating a lightweight supercar. The company estimates that Venom GT will weigh less than 2,400 lbs which is roughly 1,700 lbs lighter than the Veyron. The Venom GT has an aggressive appearance that should produce plenty of downforce thanks to its massive "VenomAero" rear wing. The car is fitted a pair of carbon brake rotors measuring at 6 piston calipers at the front and 4 piston caliper at the rear which help to decelerate the car in shorter time.

Hennessey announces new plan for HPE700 Camaro

Texas-based tuning firm Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) has announced plans for a highly modified 2010 Chevrolet Camaro that the company plans to launch early next year. As if that engine alone weren't enough, HPE has tuned the LS9 to produce 705 hp and 717 lb-ft torque. That should make for an awesome pavement pounder in the quarter-mile, or else a neat way to scorch the earth and create mushroom clouds of tire smoke.

At the heart of tuned Camaro is GM's new LS9 supercharged V8, the same engine found in the Corvette ZR1 supercar. However, in the Camaro, the force-fed mill will churn out a peak output of 705hp (526kW) and 717lb-ft (971Nm) of torque.

Other performance goodies include 15-inch carbon ceramic brakes cribbed from the ZR1, upgraded suspension bits and HRE alloy rims shod with Michelin PS2 rubber. HPE chose not to leave well enough alone in the looks department, either. The HPE700 has inherited the controversial see-through hood from the ZR1, along with a body package that includes a full carbon fiber ground effects kit and a unique front fascia with faux-hideaway headlights and a billet aluminum grille. We like it, you may not.

In addition to the power and handling upgrades, Hennessey will also be offering an exterior aerodynamics package to improve downforce at high speed. Penned by British designer, Steve Everitt, Hennessey's �Cam-Aero� body upgrades include a carbon-fiber rear lip spoiler, carbon-fiber side rocker panels, a carbon-fiber front splitter, a new front fascia with hideaway-look headlights, and a front billet grille. Completing the look of the HPE700 is a ZR1 inspired hood design with a plastic window showing off the Hennessey's tweaked LS9 powerplant.

Hennessey is offering the first HPE700 Camaros exclusively to registered bidders at the 2009 Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. However, the car will eventually be available to the general public or ordered from select Chevrolet dealers as well as directly from Hennessey. Pricing will start at $109,500.