The Story Behind The Venom GT Spyder

Yes, the Venom GT is fast, but does it actually capture you?

One would think that a die-hard Lotus fan would love the Venom GT.  After all, it’s a lot more motor on a stretched Lotus Elise chassis.  The car even retains the same front end and a similarly designed rear end while providing additional wheelbase.  The additional wheelbase is necessary just to keep the car steady and manageable to cope with such high speeds.  It’s the anti-Bugatti Veyron, but, why don’t I love the car?

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Perhaps I’m a bit jaded.  The supercar world blew up after the year 2000 with the release of the Ferrari Enzo, Porsche Carrera GT, and Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren.  While each car (surprisingly) isn’t as fast as previous supercar predecessors such as the Jaguar XJ220 and the McLaren F1, they had striking designs with upgraded technology. Bugatti really stepped things up when the Veyron was released.  Adding four turbos to a 16-cylinder engine with nearly two handfuls of radiators just seemed ridiculous.

At least with those cars, there was a different sense of purpose.  The Enzo was a commemoration to Enzo Ferrari himself.  The Carrera GT truly encapsulated race car technology with the carbon-fiber tub chassis, inboard suspension, and an engine for a LeMan prototype.  The Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren showed that speed was possible with tremendous refinement.

The Venom GT, on the other hand, had just one goal in mind.  Speed.

The engineering behind the Venom GT should be highly appreciated.  Hennessey is the only company out there that truly sought out to create a lightweight hypercar.

More cars: World's Fastest Convertible: Hennessey Venom GT Spyder hits 256.6MPH

But, is it a hyper car?  Do you even think of the Venom GT with names such as Koenigsegg and Pagani?

It seems that the Venom GT is in its’ own category.  It produces hypercar speed without the crazy hypercar technology and design.

Maybe that, in itself, is what should be appreciated.

Maybe, I would understand it, if I was behind the wheel.