Watch Hennessey's 1,000bhp Camaro hit 217mph

This, girls and boys, is a Chevrolet Camaro capable of 217mph. That makes it quicker than the latest Corvette ZR1 which, according to the Camaro’s creator, is sort of the point. It’s no ordinary Camaro, of course; it’s the Hennessey Exorcist, John Hennessey’s 1,000bhp take on the Camaro ZL1.

“We wanted to see if the Exorcist could exceed the top speed of the new ZR1 Corvette, which is 213mph,” said John. “Mission accomplished.”

The feat took place at Continental’s Texan proving ground, on its 8.5-mile high-speed oval. Despite the location being perfectly suited to such japes, it still looks pretty full-on as the car’s speed incrementally climbs. Skip to just after the two-minute mark if you want to get stuck straight into the action.

The Exorcist takes a standard, already not-slow ZL1 and properly ups the ante. It produces 1,000bhp and 883lb ft (!), enough for a claimed 0-60mph time below three seconds and the quarter-mile in under ten. Both will soon be tested properly against the clock for some official, accurate figures, too.

While Hennessey offers the Exorcist with track and drag tyre options – so it can properly exorcise the Dodge Demon on a drag-strip – the 217mph car was on standard wheels and rubber. Its ten-speed automatic gearbox was also left in its factory tune, with its supercar-slaying speed arriving in ninth gear. Dodge limits the Demon to 168mph, by the way...

Has the Exorcist claimed any records? Um, “world’s fastest Gen6 Camaro”, if such specificity interests you. More interesting is that a $120,000 car (about £85,000) just went as fast as the claimed top speed of a McLaren P1 and LaFerrari...