Home » News » VBOX Data Shows Exactly how Fast the Venom GT is

VBOX Data Shows Exactly how Fast the Venom GT is

16 January, 2013

Last week we told you that the Hennessey Venom GT broke the Guinness World Record for 0-300Kph, doing it in an average time (one run each direction) of 13.63 seconds. 0 to one hundred and eighty six miles per hour, in 13.63 seconds. That’s a quick time in the 1/4 mile. That’s quicker than it takes me to open iTunes. Golf balls accelerate slower than that (I know that’s not true. Thanks for stepping on my joke with your book of facts.)

Obviously there’s lots of cars out there today that come close to that level of acceleration. The Koenigsegg Agera R was the previous champion, and the Veyron and Huayra aren’t slow. But more impressive than that 0-186mph, is when you look at numbers like 0-60, 1/4 mile, and 1/2 mile. Few cars are ever tested for their best sprint to 300kph, I find the number is kind of hard to put into perspective. But every car in every magazine is ran to 60mph.

Thanks to VBOX USA, who handled the testing out at Ellington Airfield, we have all the ridiculous acceleration numbers. Want to know how fast the Venom GT gets to 200MPH? The answer is after the jump. (Hint: Roughly as long as my first sexual experience.)

From VBox USA:

Best 0-60: 3.05s (Keep in mind the tarmac had just dried out. On a prepped drag strip, this would easily be in the 2s.)

Best 0-100: 5.88s (It takes a ZR1 6.9 seconds, and then things get really interesting…)

Best 0-150: 9.27s (…because the Corvette won’t reach this speed for about 6 more seconds.)

Best 0-200: 14.51s *That’s 3 giant, scary, crazy seconds faster than the Agera R (17.68s), and 7 seconds faster than the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (22.1s).

Best 0-300KPH (186MPH): 13.18s

Combined 2-way avg. for 0-300KPH (186MPH): 13.63 **Guinness WORLD RECORD**

Best 1/4 Mile: 10.29 @ 158.830 MPH

Best 1/2 Mile: 15.22 @ 204.657 MPH

The way this thing runs through the gears you wouldn’t believe; 4th sounds as fast as 2nd. I stood behind the car during a launch, and it runs away from you like the Superman ride, barking off the rev limiter, defying the traction control trying to squeeze every bit of forward thrust out. In its wake is a trail of vapor that smells flammable still. Whoa.

We readers of automotive pornography exist in a world of verbal/written/numerical comparisons. We exist on blogs, forums, and Facebook. Car A comes out, and goes X fast, and then car B comes out, and goes X+1. People will surely look at these numbers and discuss altitude, air temperature, tire selection, and how many blades of grass surrounded the intake. People will debate whether this car is good enough, fast enough, or individual enough to sit with Koenigsegg and Bugatti. None of that matters.

Because they are all unbelievably, incredibly, brutes of speed. When you see one a “hyper-car”s run, any one of them, at full fucking go-for-broke gallop on their Roman Coliseum runway, it is a sight to behold. Forget which is better, what you’d buy, who has the nicer gauges, blah blah blah. Just be a fan of cars, speed, and performance. Go to a standing mile event, and instead of putting on your hipster helmet of condescension and judgement, act as if all the cars are equal. Enjoy the spectacle. Because watching 1,244HP run away from you like the Road Runner is just a jaw-dropping experience. Fast? Fuck, yes.

Source: VBOX USA

exotics hennessey standing mile super cars venom gt

ronin exige

Now let's see what kind of lap times it can do at Willow Springs since all those posted times are on race gas with nice pre heated tires before the runs…. Like drive it out to Big Willow and run five laps post a time and drive it home on pump gas through the twisties… Top speed runs on a airstrip are pure bullshit and for a kit car costing $1,000,000.00 + a joke.
- TheSmokingTire
  
  Jesus Frank, let it go. The reason everyone hates you is because you just constantly talk shit all fucking day, every day. Car gets built, you demand numbers (even though you admit your own car was never built for numbers). So we post numbers. You say these numbers aren't good enough, you want different numbers. It's never going to end with you, so just let it go and move on. You say a million bucks is a joke, but Hennessey has found 8 people so far willing to plunk that cash down for one of these cars. A car is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it, right? Well people pay a million bucks for the Venom GT, which means it's worth a million bucks. And you should know better than to call it a kit car. A kit car is something you buy in pieces and assemble in your garage. The Venom GT is delivered as a complete vehicle, negating the kit car argument. I know nothing will ever be cool enough unless it came from your garage in Lancaster, but you say the same shit over and over, like a 12 year old child. You're a fucking retiree, Frank. You have lots of money and every toy you could ever want. And yet you just talk shit, constantly. Go outside, Frank. Drive your cars. Enjoy your life. You're too fucking old to act like such a child.
  - http://wheelsanddealsofsiliconvalleyinc.blogspot.com/ KC French
    
    I fucking love you, Matt. Well stated in a way that will stroke his ego and shut him up at the same time. @roninexige: I'd rather have your car over the Venom GT. It looks better, and I'm sure it handles better. BUT, the Venom GT is worth every penny to those with the dough to hang.
  - tom
    
    So if a couple of stooges appear in the world of billions and decide to pay 100 000 dollars for lets say a mini cooper that would mean a mini cooper is worth 100 000 dollars. Come on , i remember very well you guys discussing on the podcast that the venom is a very nice and very fast car and it certinaly should not be cheap but that it is NOT a 1 million dollar car. And kit cars dont neceserally come in part. K1 attack for example.
  - Jimmy Dean
    
    Well said. No one gives a shit about Frank's Lotus or his beef with John Hennessey. It's ridiculous and it's gotten to the point where the best thing he (Frank) could do is just stop talking. It's just sad now.
    
    Insane numbers, 0-300kph in 13.68 is really really fast. I've been in some fast cars, but thats something else. As for the Venom being worth $1,000,000 I think thats a lot of money to pay for a car, but if people are willing to pay thats capitalism and you have to tip your hat to John for building something that performs well enough to wear the price tag.
    
    Crazy car. John speaks with pieces of paper, Frank speaks with his keyboard. Unfortunately for Frank John's paper says:
    
    GUINNESS WORLD RECORD
- MikeW259(M Williams)
  
  Just because somebody called your car shitty, you go all Moccasin Bend in the comment section? Chill out.
  Your Lotus is a fine accomplishment for what it is. Big power from a small motor, (.relatively speaking.) Shifter Kart-like abilities, and street-able. Why do you feel so slighted that you vehemently whine and beg for the opportunity to prove Mr. H wrong? He isn't going to give you the opportunity, so let it go. A grown man doesn't lose sleep over a little shit talking.
  
  Word of advice, learn how to let things go. John H. clearly has no interest in breaking out a $1m car to race you, so just enjoy your car and forget about it. There's no reason for an old timer, like you, to bitch and whine until your fingers get sore, because "mean old stinky smelly poopoohead John Hennessey said my car is "duh-mb" and said that his dad can beat up my dad."
  - ronin exige
    
    Who the fuck is bitching and whining ?
    All I said was "let's see what kind of lap times it can do at Willow Springs since all those posted times are on race gas with nice pre heated tires before the runs" on a fuckin airstrip, a lap time around a high speed track like Big Willow is where many road tests are done.
    
    If you chumps feel the need to do a Hennessey fan boy circle jerk have at…
    Learn to read the post's I've made for fuck's sake you doodyhead…
    - JDsTheMAN
      
      You're bitching and whining a lot Frank.
      
      You say "I'm not competitive, I could give a f*ck about lap times" then right after you say "let's see what kind of lap times it can do at Willow Springs."
      
      Make up your mind what you care about, if you care about lap times go race a time attack series, if you don't shut up because everyone is so tired of hearing you talk our ears are practically falling off. Stop criticizing people like John H. for using tire warmers and race gas…you use isopropyl alcohol as fuel and slick tires on the street. Is there a rule that says a record isn't valid if you use tire warmers.
      
      You seriously act like a 7 year old. No one cares about your Lotus but your little fan club and everyone thinks Hennesseys car is badass. If you get any more into narcissism Paris Hilton is going to sue you.
      - ronin exige
        
        Dude can you not fuckin read ? Try it again this time do it slowly….
        I'm not tryin to sell shit so whatever systems I develope for my car doesn't matter in this conversation. Any performance numbers Hennessey can come up with will only help him to sell his tuner Lotus…
        
        Not everyone thinks Hennessey's tuned Lotus is badass just fools like yourself…
      - JDstheMAN
        
        I can read, and from what I've read you can't spell at all. You spelled "pedals" (as in gas pedal brake pedal) "peddles."
        
        If you're going to accuse someone of not being able to read, make sure you are able to spell. No one cares anymore what you're doing. What you're doing is talking a whole bunch of shit, being a drain on genuine people with genuine numbers and FACTUAL INFORMATION backing their performance claims.
        
        Where is the video of you doing 0-60 in under 2 seconds as you claim? Where is the video of you out accelerating a bike on a race track?
        
        Sorry dude, your actions speak way louder than your words.
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http://wheelsanddealsofsiliconvalleyinc.blogspot.com/ KC French

er, zack…..lol my bad
ronin exige

Come on dude pull on it, Hennessey is the one makeing the effort to justify the $1,000,000.00+ price tage with the speed numbers all I asked is let's see some lap times from this kit car and it is a fuckin kit car built from a slavaged US Elise and rebodied in the UK and then sent to the US for an engine install… It's a fuckin pre assembled kit car at this point. Finding eight fuckin idiots to pay $1,000,000.00+ doesn't mean shit since all through history there have been idiots following assholes..
It's being promoted as a supercar so let's see some lap times on a track everyone knows or is that too much to ask for ?
Everyone that you say hates me hates the fact that I don't follow the bullshit or put it out tryin to make a buck. Let's see where the car is really built and not the bullshit.
Don't hate me because I worked hard enough to retire early and I won't hate you growing up a poor little rich kid in Scarsdale NY. or where ever it was.
As for talkin shit I can back it up.. Let's see Hennessey's kit car and my "Lotus" do Big Willow together..
- TheSmokingTire
  
  Your car might also be faster around Big Willow than any Ferrari, Pagani, or ay other production car on the planet. Your car is purpose-built to handle better than anything, of course it will be fast. The only hyper car that's 100% focused on lap times is the Zonda R, the rest are for going fast, looking good, having curb presence, and being generally cool. There's probably a time attack car out there that's faster than your 211, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's better, just faster in a circumstance.
- Cody
  
  @ronin exige – You know the big difference between your car and Hennessey's. He has had to put in a lot of R&D in safety measures and possibly other government regulations to actually turn his "garage built super car" (like your lotus) into something he can actually sell (unlike your lotus). Those tests will cost him a lot of money. Another thing that ads to the price is actual production. Your car is a 1-off build, you do not have to worry about reproducing it. Production will cost him much more in than large companies because he is a shop and putting something into production will take him more time costing him more money.
  
  You're upset about the 1mil price tag, that's probably because all of those items above and more. He has a lot more to worry about than your garage build. Yes you put alot of R&D in your build and attempting to make it the best handling car in the world, but if you had to go over every detail again to make it safe and comply to all the codes given by the government then i can guarantee even your concoction would cost a pretty penny. Who knows, it might even cost more than the venom in the end if you were doing the same thing??
  
  Like Matt and other said, its worth what people will pay for it. If no one was paying the 1million dollar price tag, then it probably isn't worth it, but people are. Just like people are paying close to 2mil for the Huayra.
  - ronin exige
    
    Cody the only thing I did to my car's handeling was a change of springs, shocks and tires. Anyone with a stock Lotus can do the same, if you want to reproduce it you could buy the bits online for under $5k. Hennessey did nothing to meet goverment safety regs since it's titled as an Lotus Elise same as any used Lotus you can buy.
    
    Minus the custom body work you could buy a used Lotus and add maybe $35K to the total and duplicate my car's performance, now that might cost ya a whooping $65k vs $1,000,000k
  - TheSmokingTire
    
    Your first point is incorrect (no offense). Hennessey chose the Lotus chassis because it's already approved by the gov. for crash safety. He doesn't have the money to build a chassis from ground up and get it tested for that. You think Pagani didn't want to crash the Huayra's, Hennessey has less way money than they do.
    
    Matt has addressed the issue of cost many times, and there's so much more that goes into building a car than people know, especially when you're trying to build it for OTHER people. If you build a project car for you, you can do whatever you want, and you will like it. But if you have to build something for many people, now you have to figure out what's good or bad, what looks right, what works, and (as you said) what is repeatable. With design, CAD work, engineering, Computer Flow Dynamics, carbon fiber manufacturing, drivetrain manufacturing, assembly, shipping here and there, and testing, the Venom GT cost a lot more to make than people think. – Zack
http://wheelsanddealsofsiliconvalleyinc.blogspot.com/ KC French

@ roninexige: And if you spent cash on advertising, publicity, and paying the people involved in the process, you would more than likely charge a shitload of money for the car in question, too. ESPECIALLY if it were as groundbreaking as the Venom GT. Zack's right, there really is no competition for your car because it's the most custom purpose build I've ever seen. I just hope you don't wreck it. Or at least build a few and sell'em for a mil a piece. You'd probably be surprised at how many people would want it.
- Don C.
  
  You could get a 250 Formula E super kart for $30,000 used that will do 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, 0-100 in about 4.8 and are only marginally slower than a Formula 3000 car.
  
  Not to mention at some tracks they hold the outright lap record including F3 cars etc. So if Frank wants to argue the Hennessey is slow for 1,000,000 one could certainly argue his car is over priced at $150,000.
  
  A F/E Kart would destroy his Lotus around any race track in the world. Just sayin…
ronin exige

Hell my Lotus is just a tuned Elise build by a couple of chuckel heads in a shit hole shop out in bumfuck Lancaster Ca. but this guy Hennessey pissed me off by calling my Lotus a pice of shit so let's see what his $1,000,000.00+ kit car can do on a high speed track like Big Willow vs my little Elise. I know there are faster purpose built track cars then my little Lotus but my car is a street car not a track day special so where's the problem ?
Come on my little Elise wants to play with his $1,000,000.00+ salvaged Lotus, It would be fun and make a much better video than watching it go down a airstrip..
- TheSmokingTire
  
  C'mon Frank, be fair: your car was more than a simple tuned Lotus. It was 9" wider, lighter, 3 times more powerful. It was a fast as fuck machine with a license plate. Same way things the Ariel or Venom are "street cars". Street legal, yes.
  
  The 211 was intended (by Lotus) to be a track day car. I love your car, but it's hardly a daily-driven street car.
defconluke

Lets see Underground Racing's 1500HP Gallardo and Larry Larsen's '66 Chevy on Button Willow too.
Anyone is free to spend their own money in any way they want to. As long as they are happy with what they have at then end of it then nobody else should give a shit.
The diversity of the broad sweeping term 'car culture' is what makes it great. Circuit guys won't see the sense in drag cars, drift cars or top speed cars and vice versa but they all share the same common goal – enjoying what they have.
Nobody is forcing anyone to enjoy somone else's passion – if you don't like it then you can click the little 'X' at the top of the page and move on – but just because you are passionate about something else is no reason to insult them.

Frank, if you want a real challenge then take your ultimate track car to the ultimate track (Nordschleife) and try to beat the Radical. Just sayin'.
- ronin exige
  
  I'm not tryin to beat anyone, all I asked was for a lap time of this $1,000,000.00+ salvaged Elise on a local high speed track that would favor a car with 1,400 hp. Or how about the Ring to get a better idea what this straight line beast can do in the real world of twists and turns…
  I'd just like to see what Hennessey's salvaged Lotus can do in the twisties even if it's only 9 turns at Big Willo, it can't be a one trick pony for $1,000,000.00+
  
  My little Elise is not a track car but just a warmed over street car. I don't know why everyone thinks it's a track car, hell it's only been on Big Willow twice and that was 5 yrs ago and only turned a 1:27. I just wanna see what 1.400 hp can do against the time of a 290 whp Lotus..
  - TheSmokingTire
    
    Warmed over? 290whp? C'mon Frank. At least be honest and fair. When we drove your car it had about 700hp, and a full wide body kit with carbon bits and twin-charged motor is hardly "warmed over".
    - http://www.Lotussport.org ronin exige
      
      The lap time of 1:27 on Big Willow was 5 yrs. ago with only 290 whp, ya gotta read slowly.
      Before Matt drove the car I turned down the boost to 22 psi. giving it only a 500 whp output, I didn't want him to kill himself.
      You don't just jump in a 680 whp Lotus without knowing the car, so I detuned it. The last thing I wanted was a guy without insurance killing himself in my car…
      Now the Hennessey is far from a daily driver with it's custom carbon fiber super widebody, bigger brakes,TT LS9..
      Why not take a car designed to handle on track and post a lap time ?
      - TheSmokingTire
        
        I'm sure he has road courses on his to do list. The grey car (record car) is the first car that isn't for a customer. It belongs to Hennessey. I don't think he wanted to sell someone a car and say, "Pardon, mind if I take your car to these race tracks for some lap times?" So I'm sure he'll be taking the new car to road courses and all that, as part of the PR machine every car maker goes through.
      - Jimmy Dean
        
        You have John Hennessey so far down your throat I think he knows what you had for breakfast yesterday morning. Get off the guys dick and stop being an attention whore. No one cares.
      - TheSmokingTire
        
        Interesting. No one cares? I just searched "Venom GT record" and the entire page is covered in new posts, from 10 different sites, on the Venom GT breaking that record. What a surprise that car enthusiasts would want to read about a new really fast car! It's so odd, isn't it?
        
        We don't have anyone in our throat. The Venom is fast, we were there that day, and the numbers interested us. I didn't know it hit 150 in 9 seconds, and I think that's a cool factoid, that other people might want to see. And thanks to the breakthrough technology of a computer mouse, first developed in 195-fucking-2, you have the option to not click on links that you deem boring, or that you believe contain homosexual fellatio. But hey, who am I to find three stories a day to post up that people might be interested in? I should take advice from the guy that named himself after the FINEST cuisine in all the land. Are those sausages still made of actual food, or have they finally conceded to just putting salt on cat shit? – Zack
      - Jimmy Dean
        
        I wasn't talking about you guys! I was talking about Frank!
        
        You guys are going a great job covering Hennessey's stuff. The car is amazing and I'm looking forward to seeing the reviews. My fault for not clarifying.
        
        Awesome car!
      - J.D
        
        doing*
08Corvette

^best reply i ever read. it hit 200mph in under 15 seconds and yer bitching about times itll run around willow? why do people hafta hate on shit? going fast in a straight line is kool as is going fast around a track. be humble and give props where they r deserved.
ronin exige

Dude we're talkin Hennessy tuned Lotus vs bumfuck tuned Lotus, I don't see the problem to be honest. His car's body is a direct take off of a purpose build Lotus Sport Exige racer not a road car and the standard 211 is a road legal car in the UK. So here we both have rebodied Elises and he has 8 times the power of a standard Elise vs 3 times that of my car.
He has a license plateI suppose, I've always had a license plate. We run the same size tires too.
Oh yeah I'm 4" wider in the front and 13.5" wider track in the rear. I'm sure he's about the same if not wider.

Come on David vs Goliath it would be epic.. Just think of all the potential buyers Hennessey.
- Don C
  
  No thats what you're talking about. Everyone else here is trying to talk about a badass Lotus that just set a world record. When you break some world records we'll talk about you.
http://wheelsanddealsofsiliconvalleyinc.blogspot.com/ KC French

Funny, I didn't know you already wrecked it. HAHAHAHAHAHA funny in a not so funny kinda way. Huge bummer actually…
http://wheelsanddealsofsiliconvalleyinc.blogspot.com/ KC French

"just a tuned Elise build by a couple of chuckel heads in a shit hole shop out in bumfuck Lancaster Ca." And you wonder why John would call it a POS??
bob

now I wanna see him do his claimed 2.8 0-60 on his 1200 hp CTS-V… don't get me wrong, he builds some awesome shit, but some of his claimed performance figures are BS…
- TheSmokingTire
  
  If the Venom hit 60 in 3.05, with street tires, on a recently-damp, grooved runway, I wouldn't be surprised if the CTS-V did 2.8 on good asphalt. At a drag strip, it's plausible.
ryan

im sure TheSmokingTire pp if they get $1,000,000.00 will not go tor Venom GT or Bugatti Veyron ss or Agera R…please pp STOP comparing
- wtf
  
  Hey can you reword that people can understand what the fuck your saying ? Thanks
Todd

This car is the best at what it was built for. It literally punishes the Veyron. It makes it look silly. That's what this car is about. This is what I call a lottery car since I could only get it if I won the lottery. If you want a track car then you can build a track car. It's always going to be a trade off. You can't be insanely good in one aspect without the other aspect suffering.
mike

i want to see Ronin's car.
- TheSmokingTire
  
  Here you are. http://www.threadlines.com/TheSmokingTire/cars/pr…
  - mike
    
    Well hopefully Hennessey wont crash it while street racing.
ronin exige

So this Hennessey tuner kit car makes some bullshit production car airstrip record and Hennessey doesn't even drive it, so what the fuck is that about ?
It takes no skill to point the car down a runway and mash the peddle with traction control helping keep things under control.
Ya gotta love the comments on the Tuned video…. Tuner Kit Car breaks production car record…
- TheSmokingTire
  
  VW had a pro driver do the Veyron record run, instead of the president of VW or Bugatti doing it.
- JDstheMAN
  
  Dude you are such a tool. You've been called out by guys too and you immediately started talking about having a pro driver drive your car. You constantly talk about Towshend Bell driving your car to the point where I think you should just propose to the guy.
  
  Every single thing you are criticizing others for is something you have done yourself. It's to a point where no one gives a damn about anything you say because you are such an unrelenting asshole other human beings don't even want to communicate with you. I'll type it really slow so you can comprehend it when you read it:
  
  Grrroooowwwwww thheeeeeee f*****ccckkkkk uppppppp. Nooooooo oooonnnnneeee caaaaarreeeessss annyyyymoooooore.
  - ronin exige
    
    So this Hennessey tuner kit car makes some bullshit production car airstrip record and Hennessey doesn't even drive it, so what the fuck is that about ?
    It takes no skill to point the car down a runway and mash the peddle with traction control helping keep things under control.
    Ya gotta love the comments on the Tuned video…. Tuner Kit Car breaks production car record…
    
    As for Townsend driving my car it was a chance meeting as it was with Matt asking if he could do a video… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCZIPN3KgNc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RZx-neTaVQ
    I'm not posting some bullshit about being faster than anyone and when you get your tounge out of Hennessey's ass ask Matt why he titled the video of my car "The World's Fastest Lotus ?". There is a question mark placed there but cunts like yourself can't read.. Matt knew his braindead followers would jump on the bandwagon and here you are.
    - JDsTheMAN
      
      Takes no skill to drive in a straight line? Really? You should tell that to guys who race top fuel cars.
      
      I can't speak for Hennessey, but at least he is taking his stuff out and proving what his cars are capable of. Why aren't you doing the same? I think you're scared of criticism because stop watches don't lie.
      
      You're so proud of Townshend driving your car, but you have no videos of you actually accelerating, clocking lap times etc. You say you don't care, yet its all your saying about Hennessey. No one really cares that Townshend drove your car either way.
      
      Brain dead followers?
      Please. I could out drive you in any machine on the planet, you're a horrible driver who makes up for it by building a fast car to over compensate. I would pay to you see you race in a spec Miata or Spec Lotus series where your dollars can't purchase lap times. Anyone whos been in racing long enough takes one look at the way you steer, your throttle and brake application and your lines in "the twisties" and laughs whole heartedly. You're hardly a competent driver and when you've been called out you've backed down or offered to have a pro drive your car instead of you.
      
      You're a joke dude…let people enjoy shit and stop raining on everything that doesn't glorify you as the best lotus tuner in the world, you're not. Truth hurts bro. Sorry.
ronin exige

Matt should change the title on the video he did on my car to "The World's Second Fastest Lotus ?" and retitle the Hennessey to "The World's Fastest Lotus" because no matter how you look at it Hennessey's Lotus is just a modified Lotus just like the hundreds of Honda/Audi/Ford/GM powered Lotus out there over the years the Elise has been made.
Not one other guy that has moded their Lotus has ever called it anything but a Lotus…..

because it's just a modded Lotus no matter how many titles you pay for…
- TheSmokingTire
  
  Frank, do you know what it costs to build a passenger car, from scratch, get it approved by NHTSA/DOT, crash test it, etc? Millions, millions, millions. John wanted to build a fast car, because fast cars are fun. He found a cheaper way to do it; he can’t afford to build one at the level right now of Pagani, Koenigsegg, or VW (Bugatti).
  
  So what’s the issue? What, at it’s core, is the problem with him doing that? Are you upset you didn’t get crowned best Lotus? Factory Five cars are built on Mustang frames, but no one calls them a Mustang.
  
  Why can’t you just enjoy his quest for speed, OR, just let it go? This car has been very polarizing: half the people call it a Lotus, half say STFU and enjoy it for what it is. Version 2 will let look (on the outside) nothing like a Lotus, and if there’s a version 3, it will look even less like one. This could be the beginning of a Venom legacy, and as the car evolves, it will differentiate itself from the Lotus.
  
  John isn’t a billionaire, nor is his company. He built a good-looking car that’s fast as shit, and he did it within the means and resources he had available. I feel like had he used a Corvette, Viper, or Ford GT, and modified it like this, you wouldn’t be here harping on him.
  
  I’m betting most people don’t build a brand new frame for their modded lotus. Or build all new carbon fiber bodywork, or lengthen it, or design their own traction control. Some probably have (I’m SURE you’ll let me know), but it’s definitely not common.
  
  This all just comes across as jealousy of John’s press, and how that somehow overshadows your car. I don’t think it does. No one looks at your deceased Lotus, and the Venom, and goes “Yup, same car.” Different style, look, engine, suspension, idea, interior, different everything except for the lights and the fucking VIN. I expect this kind of attitude from 15 year olds on YouTube, not from someone with your age, past collection of cars, and success.
  
  And as for him having a test driver: EVERYONE hires a test driver for record runs and performance testing. John is probably a good driver, but he’s humble enough to know he isn’t the best driver. Clarkson hands cars over to The Stig. Honda has engineers test their cars, not the CEO. Team owners don’t often drive NASCAR, they have people who are better do it. You can say a runway isn’t that complicated, but to extract every hundredth of a second from a run, is. You act like no other company in the world has ever hired a hot shoe for this shit. Even magazines, with writers (a few, not all) who are better drivers than you, me, or John, have Randy Pobst come and set lap times.
  
  You want the glory of the best Lotus? Produce them and sell them. Your car is better? Put out videos, market it, build 10 and sell them for whatever you think they’re worth. Go GET the credit you seem to crave.
  
  But don’t A) act like numbers are meaningless and then quote your own un-verified 0-60 times (that’s a number), B) Take what should be a quick comment (“kit car”) on YouTube and turn it into an endless rant about how much better you are, C) act like no one has ever put a racing driver into a car they didn’t own during stressful testing.
  
  Ultimately this is a cool-looking car that’s fast as fuck. People can call it whatever they want, but only for so long.
  
  - Zack
  - ronin exige
    
    Hell I got crowned Best Street Car of The Year by Speedhunters http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/12/2012-speedhun…
    without knowing it.
    Please feel free to delete the Drive video and remove my project thread from your forum…
    
    You guys approached me and came up with the fuckin title to the video you did on my car to spark controvercy, for fucks sake you approached me to do a video…. fact is I thought it would be a cool idea for the Celica guys to show what can be done with the 2ZZ engine, fuck most of the Lotus guys.
    But for Hennessey to call a modified Lotus a production car is total bullshit and then have me banned from two forums for pointing that out.
    Hennessey is a dick as far as I'm concerned he apoligizes to me by Email for his on line comments and yet he doesn't have the balls to post it on line so I say fuck him and his super fast modified Lotus after all that's what it is.
    
    Any fuckin redneck could do what Hennessey has done, it's nothing more then the 1997 Lotus Elise GT1 car and a ripoff of the 2005 Lotus Exige Sport 300RR plain and simple to say he designed it is bullshit.
    Sure it's fuckin fast how could it not be but don't call it anything else but a modified Lotus.
    
    Factory 5 don't use another car frame in any of their kits, runing gear only is from a doner car. Seriously Zack you guys have gotta get the facts right for once.
    
    The guys runing Audi engines in the Elise/Exige change out the subframe and yet they still call their cars Lotus, hell I built a carbon fiber body for my car and it is still a Lotus…
    Call the fast as fuck Lotus a Hennessey modified Lotus and be done with it.
    
    What fuckin endless rants do you speak of ? Post one up so that I can see what bullshit you are talking about.
    As for being jealous of John's press you have to be fuckin joking right ? Google is your friend punch up both our names and get back to me.
    
    I'm not tryin to sell shit or am I the attention whore.
    
    As for you guys and the bullshit comments have a nice long lick of my chicken skin seed sack.
    - TheSmokingTire
      
      I can't imagine where I could find a rant of yours…
      
      The 211 is a cool project. Enjoy.
  - ronin exige
    
    This is what pops up when I search for John Hennessey, a nice pice of work..
    http://www.caranddriver.com/columns/supercars-can… http://www.300cforums.com/forums/general-discussi…
    
    This is what I get when I look for myself..around the same time frame.. http://www.rs200.com/106.htm http://www.rs200.com/images/106/evolltr1.jpg
    
    Now this is a fuckin cool modified Lotus build and look he calls it a Lotus..
    http://rejsa.nu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=74693&s…
- Rob504
  
  And they should give you your own podcast called "World's Biggest Douche Bag?"
JDsTheMAN

"But don't A) act like numbers are meaningless and then quote your own un-verified 0-60 times (that's a number), B) Take what should be a quick comment ("kit car") on YouTube and turn it into an endless rant about how much better you are, C) act like no one has ever put a racing driver into a car they didn't own during stressful testing. "

THANK YOU! I've been saying this shit from jump on this guy and finally people are waking up. 0-60 claims unverified, no lap times, no evidence of anything he says, no dyno sheets, no dyno videos. I know several guys who have dealt with him in the past and say his claims have gone up every year in absurdity. I highly doubt this car is even making 720bhp daily as he claims. It's so ironic he is on john H for using a test driver when HE HAS BEEN CALLED OUT AND IMMEDIATELY SAID HE WOULD HAVE HIS RACING CAR DRIVER BUDDIES DRIVE FOR HIM. He's guilty of all the shit he badgers others for. It's ridiculous.

You should just ban him from commenting on anything TST related until he validates all his claims. He's a waste of everyones time, a drain on people trying to build quality machines, and brings the entire enthusiast scene down to his level of name calling and childish behavior.

It's time to ditch this asshole and not give him the attention that seems to be the only thing that validates him as a human being.

My guess is he would get his ass handed to him by most people at an auto-x let alone a competitive racing series. What a joker.
The Watcher

Ahahaha guys check this out. That 1:27 time around Willow Frank is always boasting about he wasn't even driving his own car:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkAgbMDKoc0

"Craig Stanton driving the early 290 hp ronin exige, big willow 1:27 on worn street tires.. 2007" – Ronin Exige

Aahhaha what a f*cking tool. Does anyone else find this as funny as me? The guy is going to sit here and talk shit to guys on youtube about how they can't drive or Hennessey not driving his own car, yet the only numbers or factual data he has shown is with SOMEONE ELSE DRIVING HIS CAR. What a hypocritical troll.

This says everything there is to say. What a loser. Ahaha I'm still laughing about this. This guy is such a joke. Please expose him on TUNED the next time you guys feature his garbage. Make him drive his own car on TUNED so we can see him crash like he did on the 101 or spin out on Willow because Stanton isn't driving his car.

Anyone can build a fast car and have someone else drive it. Frank's a loser through and through and the internet is slowly exposing him. I'm loving every second of it. This is priceless.
- ronin exige
  
  I heard you finially stoped suckin dick but ya gotta stop suckin ass because your breath is stinkin up the place…
  
  Find any post I've made talkin about anyones driving and post it here..
  Craig drove my car because I asked for his input on the suspension setup the other Lotus drivers at the track asked him to do a few timed laps, I didn't give a shit about the lap times for my car but the other Lotus owners did and the next thing these guys did was follow my lead on the suspension bits I use.
  
  Here again is Townsend Bell talkin about my car but he mentions 0-60 times to someone doing the interview I guess he's just talkin crap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RZx-neTaVQ
  
  I'm not tryin to sell anything to anyone so whatever lap times I mention for my car from 5 yrs. ago have nothing to do with the fact that the car Hennessey is selling is just a tuner Lotus but you little nutswingers just don't get it….
  
  Don't worry about seeing me or my car on tuned again because it won't happen….
The Watcher

Townshend can say whatever he wants, until data or evidence is provided on a flat level surface it's all talk. Townshend was accelerating up / down hill on a 6-8% + grade which is something you don't even seem aware of.

The fact that Townshend is a pro and wouldn't mention the grade affecting the cars 0-60 time is surely of interest to anyone who listens to him as a credible source. A professional driver should know better.

0-60 times are not measured on 6-8% grades. No part of the road where he drove your car is flat or level. For a guy who doesn't give a shit, you sure expend a lot of energy trying to validate yourself. The point is John Hennessey is out there proving what he claims and you just want to sit here and talk shit like a loser.

Good for you for putting someone else in your car and bragging about their lap time or their opinion on a suspension setup. I'm pretty sure most people don't want to see you on anything anymore. You're a waste of everyones time and a drain on every but your little fan club.

You should stick to impressing people at "The Snake" who just got their drivers license or think your car is the shit because they haven't raced a day in their lives. Or better yet, just stick to your little forum where you can convince people that blowing an air gun on a side pod is proof that your cars aerodynamics are working correctly.

You've always, and will always be a joke an a source of laughter for anyone who is educated about motorsport or in the know. We thank you for the entertainment Frank. You should have your own talk show.
- ronin exige
  
  Funny thing, dude my new show starts Sept. 9th. I'll post up the info for you to follow. Stay tuned.
  
  Now back to the Hennessey tuned Lotus show already in progress..
  - The Watcher OHHHHH
    
    Are you going to be a Cesar Milans Dog Whisperer? Cause you're a grade A bitch.
    - TheSmokingTire
      
      Ok, moving along…
The Watcher

I'm sure it's a comedic talk show. The last thing myself or anyone who has an ounce of sense would follow is a bunch of garbage being spewed from your mouth on public television, youtube or a podcast. I showed some of your posts to a friend of mine who was a Formula Atlantic driver and self taught engineer who studied under the guy who designed the chassis of the most winning F1 car of all time and he laughed so hard he couldn't even make it past your second post.

I'm a couple decades past your target market, but I'm sure you'll find a warm welcoming with the same people who found the original Fast and the Furious about as factual as the fiction section in their local library.

And here I thought you could only find tools at Sears.