Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster roars with 1,817 hp

Hennessey unveiled the Venom F5 Roadster on Thursday. [The new Venom F5 Roadster, which will make its official debut on August 19 at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, one of the premier events of the 2022 Monterey Car Week, is the Venom F5, Hennessey's hypercar unveiled two years ago. We are told that it is an open-top version and that there will be no performance loss due to the removal of the roof.

The Venom F5 Roadster is powered by the same twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V-8 as its coupe sibling, producing 1,542 hp on pump gas and 1,817 hp peak on E85. Peak torque is 1,193 lb-ft. Nicknamed Fury, this powerful engine is mated to a 7-speed automated manual transmission that spins only the rear wheels.

Also shared with the coupe is a carbon fiber center monocoque construction, but the roadster will need to be kept at home as it has a removable roof panel. Since the Venom F5 was designed from the outset with an open-top version in mind, the lack of a roof means only minor tweaks to the monocoque and no significant weight gain. According to Hennessey, the dry weight of the Venom F5 Roadster is 3,098 pounds (2,998 pounds for the coupe).

The removable roof panel is made of carbon fiber with an Alcantara headliner. The roof panels are connected to the car with high-strength latches. Purchasers will be provided with a separate stand to store the roof panel when not in use. Carbon fiber is also used in other body panels and the cabin to further reduce weight.

Hennessey needs to conduct final tests to verify the car's performance, but the Venom F5 Roadster, like the coupe, is designed to exceed 300 mph. Incidentally, Hennessey's top speed recorded with the coupe is 271.6 mph, but higher speeds are planned.

If the Roadster can match the coupe's performance, it will be the fastest convertible of any kind in production. The speed to be broken is 265.6 mph, set by Hennessey's own Venom GT Spyder in 2016.

Hennessey plans to build 30 of these roadsters, each priced at $3 million. This is more than the 24 coupes. Production will take place at Hennessey's headquarters in Sealy, Texas. The coupe is already in production, and the roadster will be produced starting later this year.

Hennessey has also hinted at the launch of a high-downforce model designed for shorter lap times instead of a higher top speed, and more versions of the Venom F5 may eventually appear.