Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Evo review

Gareth Whitfield • September 18, 2026 21:52

I know the protocol: start gently, understand the power delivery and move progressively through the driving modes before finally selecting ‘F5’. The name refers to F5, the top category on the Fujita tornado scale, assigned to the most destructive storms: those that clear everything in their path with winds of up to 318mph. With as much as 2,031bhp extracted solely from a hugely turbocharged V8, the Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Evo fully earns such theatrical branding.

A cautious approach therefore seems sensible, yet it also feels entirely at odds with a car created to stretch limits, demolish records, smash through 300mph and give the establishment a Texas-sized middle finger. Determined not to betray the Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Evo’s founding principles, I wait until the support crew are out of view, rotate the manettino-style steering-wheel control until ‘F5’ appears on the digital instrument display, and floor the accelerator.

The 6.6-litre twin-turbocharged V8 forces E85 through fire-hose-like fuel rails into its combustion chambers; once it passes 5,000rpm, pandemonium follows. In spite of the ground-skimming ride height and exceptionally firm springs, the Venom drops onto its rear tyres, the steering lightens and the scenery becomes a blur. For several seconds, the engine’s frankly ridiculous 1,445lb ft feels capable of accelerating the rotation of the planet itself. The forces involved are simply too immense to describe as ordinary ground-based acceleration. Any shouting would disappear in the frenzy, although my mouth is so dry that I could not make a sound regardless. My mind, however, is yelling, “Fuuuuuuuuuuuu…..jiiiitaaaaa”.

Photography: Greg Pajo

Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Evo: record-breaking power

There is no doubt that the Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Evo strikes with avalanche-like force. This is a comprehensively developed version of the already extravagantly endowed Venom F5, and it is the world’s most powerful road-going car powered by an internal-combustion engine. Running on E85, it delivers 2,031bhp at 8,000rpm and 1,445lb ft at 5,200rpm, while Hennessey says it can complete 0–200mph in 10.3 seconds. At a later date, the low-drag variant, named simply the F5 Venom Evolution, will attempt an outright top-speed record at considerably more than 300mph. Is it ridiculous? Naturally. Is it relevant? Certainly not. Is it rather cool? Absolutely.

If you suspect the Hennessey is merely an American drag racer concealed beneath hypercar bodywork, allow me to challenge that assumption. Hennessey’s principal business may involve making vast pick-ups and saloons either extraordinarily quick or extraordinarily smoky while travelling slowly, but its bespoke, clean-sheet operation is flourishing too. The company intends to build 99 Venom F5s and has already handed over 30 examples. This Revolution Evo is priced from $2.75 million, while owners of existing cars can add the Evo package retrospectively for $285,000. The lower-drag model begins at $2.5 million.

That achievement may partly rest on ‘Made in the USA’ patriotism, although the Venom F5 is more international than its Texas origins might suggest. Its carbon-fibre chassis and body are supplied by KS Composites near Melton Mowbray, a company with experience of F1 programmes and specialist road cars ranging from the Jaguar Project 8 to supercars it is not permitted to discuss. The Evolution package brings revised aerodynamics, suspension changes and an additional 214bhp over the original Venom F5. It also draws on the expertise of Multimatic aerodynamicist Dr Mark Handford and Ilmor Engineering in Brixworth, Northamptonshire.

Ilmor’s contribution adds a pleasing motorsport connection. Its F1 business was sold in 2005, becoming Mercedes High Performance Powertrains, while Ilmor still supplies IndyCar teams. Better still, in 1994 the company identified a loophole in the regulations and created an entirely new pushrod V8 for Mercedes, called the 500l. It then crushed its rivals, taking pole position at the Indy 500; Emerson Fittipaldi led for much of the race, but his team-mate Al Unser Jr ultimately won. After that single appearance, the 500l was immediately outlawed. The F5 engine represents Ilmor’s second crack at pushrods...

Ilmor’s extensive reworking of the ‘Fury’ 6.6-litre twin-turbocharged V8 includes still larger Precision 7680 turbochargers, oval billet aluminium pistons and connecting rods, titanium exhaust valves, and injectors with greater flow capacity. Although the engine is assembled in Northamptonshire, its soundtrack is pure Americana and it defines the F5’s character. There is something wonderfully compelling about sitting in a mid-engined, carbon-tub hypercar and feeling it gently sway to a V8 beat like a 1960s muscle car.

The seven-speed, single-clutch, paddle-operated transmission engages first with a pronounced thunk, reinforcing the impression that vast forces are being managed, and the F5 pulls away in a rather surly manner. It copes adequately with low-speed driving if your right foot is delicate, though it is obvious this is not how the Hennessey most enjoys moving through the world. The yoke-style steering wheel is beautifully light in effort, but the front tyres wander noticeably and the ride remains firm even in the standard Sport setting. The Evo’s new adaptive Tractive dampers plainly crave smooth circuit tarmac.

Initial impressions are therefore a little overpowering. Yet, from an unlikely source, there is also a hint of familiarity. I am in Texas, but the car somehow recalls Norfolk. Hennessey’s first hypercar, the Venom GT, was based on a Lotus Exige, albeit one with a much enlarged footprint and a V8 forced into it. The F5 has very different DNA, but its dashboard and windscreen shapes feel related, while its narrow carbon-fibre seats seem to have been inspired by Lotus’s old Probax chairs. When fitted to the Elise and Exige, those seats came with bold claims about comfort; I always found them agonising.

The F5’s seats are similarly punishing for me, with extreme acceleration adding another layer of discomfort. Naturally, customer seats can be tailored for a far better fit. That is roughly where the Lotus connection begins and ends. The Evo does, however, honour the old maxim about adding lightness: its all-ICE layout and relentless focus on mass mean it weighs only 1,360kg dry. The Fury requires substantial lubrication and cooling, so fluids will raise that figure considerably, but the power-to-weight ratio remains extraordinary. For perspective, a Lotus Emira weighs about 1,450kg ready to drive, while we recently measured a Valkyrie at 1,340kg with a full fuel tank.

18 minutes 53 seconds

On road and track with the Venom F5 Revolution Evo

On a remarkably winding road outside the small Texas town of Fayetteville, the F5 feels light and alert. Keep the engine below 5,000rpm and its performance is forceful rather than otherworldly, which is reassuring. Having sampled the upper reaches once, the acceleration seems so savage that it belongs in a closed environment and demands genuine respect. The fact that this engine produces 307bhp per litre while still responding keenly before the turbochargers are working at full force is genuinely remarkable. I almost begin to unwind.

That growing feeling of comfort is helped by superb brake-pedal feel and a transmission that is more civilised than expected. There is a reason major manufacturers have embraced dual-clutch gearboxes despite their weight disadvantage, yet this CIMA unit delivers crisp, forceful shifts at full load and behaves well at lower speeds provided you ease the throttle slightly during an upchange. The F5 is noisy, and its colossal output is evident even at modest speeds, but it possesses just enough refinement to soften the experience’s brutal, unfiltered energy.

Increase the pace by a gear or two, though, and the F5 demands your attention. Its suspension is too stiff for this road - I later discover that the springs fitted to this car are a test specification for upcoming high-speed runs and should be ‘almost halved’ - while bumps combined with boost make it snake along the surface. Frankly, its traction is better than I anticipated, but the abundant torque still has the car weaving like a heavily boosted front-wheel-drive machine on a narrow British country road. Using even a small proportion of the available power on public roads feels mildly deranged, although greater confidence when attacking the spaces between corners would be welcome.

Imagine that first freefall sensation on a rollercoaster continuing without end. That’s the Venom F5 Revolution Evo

In several respects, the car overturns my expectations. I expected it to annihilate straights and then feel a little cumbersome and inert through bends. Instead, the F5 awakens in corners. Once the chassis has taken a set, it settles convincingly and reveals a lovely balance. It turns into each bend cleanly before easing into very gentle mid-corner understeer. Maintain load through the rear tyres and that stable, reassuring phase changes, with the outside rear tyre becoming the key balancing point.

With this savagely voiced hypercar in its sweet spot, everything feels surprisingly easy; the power helps the car hold a perfect line rather than disrupting it. As the bend opens onto a straight, you can even introduce a trace of rear slip with genuine confidence. The Revolution wears dive planes, a vast front splitter, new wheelarch vents and an enormous rear wing in pursuit of downforce, yet at road speeds it remains progressive and adjustable.

At Hennessey’s own test facility, there is scope to investigate this aspect of the car more thoroughly. Perhaps sensibly, the F5’s traction control cannot be fully switched off, but its calibration in the default Sport mode - alongside Wet, Drag, Track and F5 - is well judged. I now have ‘just’ 1,300bhp at my disposal, but the Fury still feels as furious as any engine operating at its limit.

The chassis, meanwhile, reveals a gentler and more accommodating nature. I can throw the car into a corner hard while off-throttle to start the rear moving, feed in power, and lean heavily on the traction-control systems to sustain the angle for an entire gear. The Venom F5 Revolution Evo is raw and occasionally overwhelming to the senses, but below its thunderous power delivery sits a fundamentally well-sorted, exploitable supercar.

Its next trick is Drag mode and a launch-control start using all 2,031bhp. It is painful. It is hilarious. It is impressively controlled - although the traction control makes a major intervention at around 135mph over a small bump, illustrating the ferocity of the acceleration - and it could hardly be simpler. Press the brake pedal as hard as possible, hold the throttle wide open, and wait for the graphic saying ‘Boost building’ to change to ‘Ready to launch’. Let go of the brakes and 150mph arrives almost instantly.

Hennessey manages torque according to gear ratio, meaning the V8’s full force does not arrive until third gear, but such subtleties are imperceptible from the driving seat. The Evo’s ability to fling you towards the horizon feels inexhaustible.

The sensations differ hugely from those of an electric hypercar: they are less immediately shocking, but considerably more exciting. As the large turbochargers build boost and continue building it all the way to the rev limit, the impression is of exponential, almost supernatural force. Whenever your brain begins to understand what is happening, the delivery seems to intensify again. The Fury engine’s relentless output always remains one step ahead. Imagine that first freefall sensation on a rollercoaster continuing without end. That’s the Venom F5 Revolution Evo at full noise. It is wild. And addictive.

The 2,031bhp question

So this is the crucial point: can the Hennessey stand as a genuine alternative to the more aristocratic hypercars of the old world? I believe it can, albeit with qualifications. First, the attention-grabbing 2,031bhp figure falls substantially to 1,300bhp when using more conventional ‘pump gas’. In the UK, there are exactly zero E85 filling stations. Around 2.4 per cent of US stations sell E85, and the European situation is variable but still rather discouraging if you want to regularly replenish the appetite of a 6.6-litre twin-turbocharged V8. Now, 1,300bhp is an enormous amount. But it is not 2,031bhp.

This is a really good car that feels slightly in thrall to its massive power output

Remove the appeal of being the biggest hammer available and you may examine the other qualities expected of a hypercar more closely, questioning whether the Hennessey reaches the same standard. Consider the exquisite detail of a Pagani Utopia, the wonderfully pure tactility of a GMA T.50, or the astonishing completeness and motorsport heritage of a Ferrari F80. The standards are impossibly lofty.

For me, the Venom F5 Revolution Evo is defined by its capacity to shock. It is about that engine and its outrageous, unhinged personality. At heart, this is a genuinely good car that seems slightly dominated by its immense power output. Remove that element and it remains deeply impressive, but the compromises necessary to manage 2,031bhp begin to appear less logical. Ironically, had it been designed from the outset around 1,300bhp, I suspect it would be even more rewarding and sweeter on the road.

It is a devastating car and a major accomplishment. Now that Hennessey has proved it belongs in this rarefied company, I hope its next model is less preoccupied with unprecedented outputs and breaking the 300mph barrier, and more focused on releasing the obvious potential beneath the surface. Even so, I will not forget launching this thing in a hurry. It was Fujita-ing unbelievable.