what's the quickest accelerating street car we've ever tested?
A Cobra 427? Lamborghini Diablo? '70 Hemi' Cuda? Now, what does it take to qualify as king he-stud of the country - 0 to 60 mph in 5 seconds? Heh, that's wimp material in this day, Gomer. Everything from a Firebird Formula automatic to an Acura NSX driven by Abe Vigoda on Nyquil can dip well into the fives. A performance level once the exclusive domain of the best '60s muscle-cars is now the minimum ante. Pick the wrong fight on today's mean streets, and you'll be eaten by the lions before you hit second gear.
Now check out the 4-second players. A small but ever-growing cult of top-gun street fighters like the Toyota Supra Turbo (4.9 seconds), Lotus Esprit Turbo S4 (4.8), Dodge Viper RT/10 (4.5), and the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 (4.4). But even the Panzer-Porsche's prowess isn't in the threes, and as drag racers know, a half-second may as well be an eternity.
If you're relying on the super-exotics to save the day, prepare to cough up big-time bucks. And, even then, you might be in for a disappointment. The Ferrari F40 can do the 0-60 deed in a reported 3.9 seconds, and the new 550 horsepower, V-12, quad-turbo, all-wheel-drive, Bugatti EB110 has been clocked in Europe at 4.5 seconds. We've driven a Consulier Intruder to a 3.9-second run, and the million-dollar mega-exotic McLaren F1 is rumored to be in the mid-threes, but you won't see many of those at the local "grudge night" drags. Other world - renowned heavy hitters we've tested, including the Lamborghini Diablo (4.4 seconds) and the $1 million Jaguar XJR-15 (4.5) fall disappointingly short of the acceleration needed to match the overlords of the 3-Second Club.
Long live the NEW KING: the Hennessey Motorsports Viper Venom. As if a regular 400-horsepower V-10 Dodge Viper isn't sufficiently virile, Hennessey's Venom 500 and 550 derivatives pack enough testosterone to outfit six pro-wrestlers, three Marine Corps platoons, and a trainload of foamy-mouthed Brahma bulls. The "slower" of the two blasts from 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds, and scorches the quarter mile in 12.1 seconds at 116.3 mph. That's an energy release as subtle as an atomic bomb in a pay toilet and as exciting to drive as everything in our high-buck Road Test Review combined, making Hennessey's super-tuned Vipers the quickest - accelerating street cars ever tested in Motor Trend's 46 years of publication... period... no discussion. If that's not a big brag, you're not paying attention.
This young Houston, Texas-based company is the direct extension of owner John Hennessey's lust for ultra-performance cars. The former asbestos- removal czar of the Lone Star State and privateer racer (Pikes Peak competitor and a record holder at both the Nevada Silver State Classic and Bonneville Salt Flats), Hennessey sold his toxic-cleanup business in 1991 to develop and manufacture go-fast products for high-tech toys like the Dodge Stealth/ Mitsubishi 3000GT and Diamond-Star turbo coupes. With the most exciting American car in 25 years soon to debut, it made sense to Hennessey to begin work on Viper upgrades.
Only the emotionally warped and mentally sick should venture any further. No one with any shred of sensibility needs to own a regular Viper, let alone one with an additional 100 to 150 horsepower. Yet, Viper owners are coming out of the woodwork to buy Hennessey's wares. Ten years ago, a car that ran 0-60 mph in 6.0 seconds was considered a Visigoth; today, few seem satisfied with a stock Viper's 4.5-second prowess. The social deviates among our test staff agree: Too much power is barely enough.
Hennessey Motorsports offers two levels of modifications for willing Vipers, as Venom 500 and 550 packages. The main goal is to increase engine airflow, reduce exhaust back pressure, and improve exhaust sound. Secondary concerns involve lower-ratio gearing, increased cooling reserve, and comfort/appearance items such as polished wheels and a unique carbon-Kevlar hardtop. The black Viper we tested is a Venom 500; the red car wears Venom 550 components. Hennessey will convert existing Vipers or can deliver you a brand-new turn-key car.
The biggest criticism of a stock Dodge Viper is its lack of aural authority. Even with 488 cubic-inches thumping away underhood, the tenor of the exhaust note is more anonymous than intimidating. To add some growl, as well as reduce back pressure, Hennessey's chief engineer, Robin St. John, developed a 3.0-inch diameter stainless steel exhaust system, replacing everything aft of the catalytic converters. The factory side pipe coverings remain in place, and the look of the car isn't altered. Hennessey claims a 35-horsepower increase, and the exhaust spits out a more defiant attitude (though the inherent flatness of the V-10's tone will never let it sound like a healthy V-8.) Air management continues with the installation of Hennessey's Hi-Flow air-induction kit (filters and silicone hoses), enlarged throttle bodies (by 5 millimeters), Hi-Flow intake manifold (enlarged ports; port-matched to cylinder heads), ported and polished cylinder heads (raises compression ratio from 9:1 to 10:1), and 1.7:1 stainless steel roller rocker arms (replacing the stock 1.6:1 stamped steel rockers). Add a set of hardened steel pushrods and adjustable guide plates, plus a set of platinum- tip spark plugs (one heat range colder than stock) and 8-millimeter silicone plug wires (2 millimeters larger for lower energy loss), and you have the bundle of goodies constituting Hennessey's Venom 500 engine package.
Estimates of 500 horsepower at 5200 rpm and 550 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm seem entirely reasonable, given the impressive performance numbers (0.9 seconds quicker 0-60 mph than stock; 1.1 seconds/4.2 mph faster in the quarter mile). Factory-fresh Vipers push out 400 horsepower at 4600 rpm and 480 pound-feet of twist at 3600 rpm.
One upgrade item not to overlook has nothing to do with the engine, but delivers an effective performance boost nonetheless: the rear axle ring and pinion. Corporate fuel-economy concerns have saddled the Viper with tall-as-Everest 3.07:1 ratio cogs; in sixth gear at 100mph, you're only taching 2000 rpm, giving the stock car a theoretical top end of 300 mph, and less pull in sixth than rap-master Dr. Dre has with Janet Reno. Hennessey offers 3.54 or 3.73:1 rear gear sets that effectively lower the 0.50:1-ratio sixth gear into something resembling a useable position in the shift sequence. Performance in the lower gear ranges also is noticeably energized, though reverse will no longer be good for upward of 50 mph.
Order Hennessey's Venom 500 package and all the above is included at an installed price of $14,500. That's about 25 percent of the cost of the basic car, so don't expect to see these items show up on the Home Shopping Channel's big year-end sales bonanza. Most of the components are available separately, and EPA approval is currently pending on the exhaust items. The important federal green-stamp of environmental purity is also expected to be awarded for the other engine equipment; however, none has been certified as of this writing.
Horsepower is a drug as addictive as the purest crack cocaine and considerably more expensive to obtain. Even 500 horsepower sounds tame when there's 550-plus awaiting your clammy grasp. Hennessey's Venom 550 package includes all the above equipment, plus a set of custom-fabricated stainless steel headers with 1.75-inch primary tubes and 4.0-inch diameter collectors. A 2.5-inch diameter stainless steel exhaust crossover pipe helps balance the exhaust pulses and improves the tone. Mid-range and high-rpm power gets a further assist from a custom-ground camshaft with 0.578-/0.578-inch intake/exhaust lift and 290-/290 degree duration (compared to the stock bumpstick's specs of 0.525/-0.495-inch intake/exhaust lift, and 292-/288-degree duration). Stiffer valve springs and special stud girdles add to the high-rpm revability, while an auxiliary fuel pump and fuel-pressure regulator are plumbed-in to supply the additional juice this 550-plus horsepower at 6000 rpm and 550 pound-feet of torque at 4500 rpm monster requires.
Installed package price for the Venom 550 equipment is $22,000, but you can still add Hennessey's high-capacity five-row aluminum radiator, polished aluminum wheels, and specially designed carbon-Kevlar removable hardtop. This snug-fitting hardtop replaces the folding canvas Chinese-puzzle design foisted on us by Dodge and affixes onto tabs installed on the windshield header and the rear cockpit body panel. It weighs 20 pounds (two less than the softtop), allows use of the stock side curtains, and won't fly off as you pass 140 mph. So what if it costs five grand? (It just won't fit in the trunk.)
The citified demeanor of the Venom 550's low-speed lope belies its flesh-eating soul. So, light the booster rockets and hang on. There's more power than traction all the way to 100 mph and enough torque to pull the truth out of the Warren Commission. Driving technique is critical to obtaining a record run, with an idle-speed launch and judicious feathering of the throttle required well into third gear. On the abrasive asphalt of Chrysler's Arizona Proving Grounds (better than what most dragstrips offer), Hennessey's Venom 550 blasted 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds, to 100 in 8.4, and through the quarter mile in 11.7 seconds at 120.9 mph. That's 1.5 seconds quicker and 11.3 mph faster than a Lamborghini Diablo, at about one-third the cost!
Study the performance chart carefully. The Venom 550 gets to 120 mph in the same time the Venom 500 is at 110; the 4.6-mph difference in quarter-mile trap speed and 0.4-second variation in elapsed time proves a big horsepower difference between the two cars - probably closer to a 75-horsepower spread than the 50-plus Hennessey advertises. It's really, really, strong. A world-class asp kicker.
Tallying $87,195 in full-option trim, the red Venom 550 is far from cheap. But its bang - for - the - megabuck value is unsurpassed by any street-car compilation currently offered. The downsides to owning such a hormone-injected Viper are little more than those comfort atrocities already doled out by the factory version. Fuel economy will be worse (though we did see 17 mpg in freeway driving) warranty coverage becomes questionable, and tire life is measured in weeks, not years. But, all that is probably of little concern to those power freaks among us who lust to own the quickest accelerating cars Motor Trend has ever tested.
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