The Hennessey Venom GT: A New Era Of Speed And Luxury

Next time you're late for work and wish you had a faster car, you may want to consider buying a Hennessey Venom GT, officially the new fastest car in the world! Six months ago, we reported that the Koenigsegg Agera R had broken nearly all of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport's speed records to become the fastest car in the world. The only record the Koenigsegg did not beat was Bugatti's overall top speed, which still stands at 268 miles per hour. But now the Hennessey Venom GT officially holds the Guinness world record for accelerating from 0-186 MPH, making it the fastest car in the world today.

Earlier this week, a team from Hennessey took their Venom GT out onto a Houston track to test the super car's limits. The team was well aware that the standing record for accelerating from 0-186 MPH was 14.53 seconds, set by the Koenigsegg Agera R. Koenigsegg took the record from Bugatti, which had a previous high mark of 16.7 seconds. After several practice runs and much anticipation, the Guinness team officially clocked the Hennessey Venom GT's 0-186 MPH at 13.63 seconds. Fast enough to make it the fastest car in the world today! The Venom GT also went from 0-100 in just 5.88 seconds and hit 205 MPH after one mile flat out.

Now before you feel too bad for Bugatti, keep in mind that the Veyron Super Sport still holds two very important world records: 1) The Super Sport's top speed of 268 MPH is still the fastest in the world, and 2) at a base sticker price of $2.4 million, the Super Sport is still, by far, the most expensive car on the planet. On the other hand, the Hennessey team is quick to claim that if they also had access to Volkswagen's famous Ehra-Lessien test track, the Venom GT could easily smash Bugatti's top speed record. The Hennessey team is now on the hunt for a track or private toll road that would allow them to really go after the Super Sport's 268 MPH top speed mark. Hennessey's world record test driver believes that hitting 270 MPH would be no problem with the right course.

Another thing you may want to consider when purchasing a supercar like the Venom GT or the Bugatti Veyron is fuel economy. These supercars obviously require the highest quality and most expensive gasoline. They also clearly have very low MPG. When performing at top speed, the Bugatti Veyron gets just three miles per gallon! In other words, when driving at top speed, the Bugatti will burn through 1.5 gallons of fuel every minute. That means if you are driving at top speed, you will burn through an entire tank of gas in just over 10 minutes! Assuming you pay around $4 for premium fuel, that's $70 every time you burn through a tank.

If you're interested in purchasing a Hennessey Venom GT, you should know that the base sticker price is $1.43 million. And if that wasn't bad enough, the company is only planning to make 29 of them! Actually, they only have 28 left after Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler took ownership of his special edition convertible Hennessey Venom GT.

More info: Steven Tyler's Hennessey Venom GT

So, if money was no object but you had to choose one or the other, would you buy a Hennessey Venom GT or the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport?