The ultra-performance Hennessey Venom GT, built on a modified Lotus Elise platform but wrapped in custom body work, lengthened, and with a mind-bending 1,200-horsepower twin-turbo V-8 engine amidships, will make its North American debut at the 2010 SEMA show. This video gives a taste of the 262-mph beast as it waits.
The huge output might sound almost pedestrian in these days of Bugatti Veyron Super Sports and Koenigsegg CCXRs, but neither of those cars can get down to the Hennessey Venom GT's feather-light 2,400-pound curb weight. Of course, not all Venom GTs will be outfitted with the 1,200-horsepower twin-turbo mill--some will get a massaged version of the supercharged 6.2-liter LS9 from the Corvette ZR1, rated at 725 horsepower, while others will get a wild-yet-milder 1,000-horsepower twin-turbo variant of the 1,200-horse powerplant.
Beyond the time-space warping power and lightness combo, the Venom GT adds a six-speed Ricadro sequential gear box, 15-inch carbon-ceramic rotors, Brembo calipers, active aerodynamics and suspension, and a programmable traction control system to the mix.
Only 10 of the these hyper-cars will be built per year, and as of March, four of the cars were already ordered. Better get your move on if you want one before 2012.
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