John Hennessey says a two-way 300mph average in the Venom F5 could happen in the next 12 months

The Venom F5’s long-awaited 300mph run could happen in Texas in the next 12 months, boss John Hennessey exclusively told TopGear.com. 

“The Department of Transportation in Texas has been very good to us to let us test cars. They’ve got some amazing new highways that are under construction, so we’ll see where that intersects with our future calendar,” Hennessey told TG.  

“But we’re still very intent on going out with F5 and doing a two-way average of over 300mph. There’s other cars that have gone out and done one run. Bugatti did 304mph and there’s others that have done in the 290mph to 300mph range but everyone has just done it in one direction, so we’d like to prove it up in a two-way direction. That’s still very high on our list of priorities.”

“We’d really like to do it close to home so that our customers and employees can witness it. But it’s got to be a really safe venue. A shutdown public highway would be the best way to go. We’ve looked at the highway out in Nevada where Koenigsegg ran 285mph maybe five years ago, but it’s just such a narrow road. A bad gust of wind would make it tricky for the driver so we want something a little wider and a little flatter. I think potentially we’ll have access to something like that at some point in the next 12 months.”

So there you have it – as long as these new highways in Texas stay on track, the Venom could finally get its shot at a 300mph run in 2023. Need a recap on the bonkers, 1,817bhp hypercar? Click these blue words for our full review. And remember, the proposed top speed of the F5 is a mighty 311mph. 

Hennessey has been through lots of high speed testing so far, of course, and in early 2022 we saw it hit well above 250mph for the first time. 

“Having done quite a bit of testing on runways last year, we made the decision that 3.2 miles is just not enough distance to deliver the absolute top speed of the F5,” Hennessey also told TG. 

“In 2020 we finished the first car, in 2021 we built two cars, set up our factory and trained up our team. In 2022 we got to 10 cars, and we felt like last year it was really important for the company to deliver cars to clients, so we thought okay let’s take a break on v-max.

“We’d like to have a five or seven mile stretch of flat, straight highway. At that point we’re not trying to do some sort of a drag race on a three-mile runway. We ran 271mph with change at the NASA runway about a year ago, but even if it was approaching 300mph it’s still not the absolute v-max of the car. And you’re watching the speedo and you’re going as fast as you can and you’re having to jam on the brakes at the end of the runway.”

Thoughts, Internet?