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For years, Hennessey has been trying to beat Bugatti and others to create the world’s fastest production car, and now it’s claiming the Venom F5 will get it there.
Built around a U.K.-built carbon-fiber tub weighing only 192 pounds and a mid-mounted turbo V-8 named “Fury,” the Venom F5 is claimed to have a zero-to-62-mph time of 2.6 seconds and a top speed above 311 mph.
John Hennessey told C/D that although the company will produce one or two more cars after this, the F5 is meant to remain the brand’s top performer.
This is the car that is set to make the Koenigsegg One:1 seem slow and the Bugatti Chiron positively leisurely. The production Hennessey Venom F5 is a U.S. hypercar that—if it delivers on its maker’s bold claims—will be the fastest production car in the world.

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Hennessey

Hennessey has long been known as a tuner—one with a reputation for extravagant claims in the past—but the Venom F5 marks its effective debut as a manufacturer in its own right. (The ultra-limited Venom GT that preceded it used a Lotus tub.) It’s named after the highest rating on the Fujita scale of hurricane strength, and just 24 cars will be built, each priced at $2.1 million.
The F5 will be constructed in a new facility in Sealy, Texas, but the first finished car was completed in the U.K., where the carbon-fiber monocoque is manufactured by KS Composites. And that explains why our first sight of it was at a former Royal Air Force air base in the English Midlands.

From 2017: Hennessey Venom F5 Aims for 300 MPH

From 2014: Hennessey Venom GT Hits 270.49 MPH

The headline figures are some way beyond spectacular. Based on Hennessey’s numbers, the F5’s mid-mounted 90-degree turbocharged 6.6-liter V-8—dubbed “Fury” by the company—is set to be the most powerful engine ever fitted to a production car. This is a pushrod unit, a configuration well known to Hennessey’s tuning operations, chosen for its compact dimensions and lower center of gravity. The company claims a peak of 1817 horsepower at 8000 rpm—the engine revs out at 8200 rpm—accompanied by a 1193-pound-foot torque peak at 5500 rpm.

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Hennessey

The engine uses a cast-iron block and aluminum cylinder heads plus titanium intake valves and Inconel exhaust valves. Connecting rods and pistons are forged, and both crankshaft and camshaft are made from billet steel. Two ball-bearing turbochargers have 76-mm-diameter compressor wheels and 3D-printed titanium housings, delivering up to 23 psi of boost. Drive reaches the rear wheels through a seven-speed CIMA single-clutch automated transmission and limited-slip differential, with gearbox ratios chosen to help the F5 achieve its targeted acceleration and top speed numbers.
And top speed claims are even more outlandish. Hennessey, using only km/h measurements, says that the F5 will be capable of a 2.6-second zero-to-62-mph time, a 4.7-second zero-to-124-mph time, an 8.4-second zero-to-186-mph time, and 15.5 seconds from zero to 248 mph. Top speed is targeted to be in excess of 311 mph. If delivered, that would make the F5 faster even than the 304-mph Bugatti Chiron. The F5’s ultratall seventh gear means the engine won’t run out of revs until 334 mph, according to Hennessey’s claims.

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Hennessey

The monstrous engine will be working against a minimum of mass. The F5’s carbon tub is claimed to weigh just 190 pounds in its naked state. Most of the bodywork is carbon fiber, with the exception of an aluminum roof, with front and rear aluminum subframes. Mechanical complication is minimal: the F5 has a control-arm suspension at each corner, coil springs and separate reservoir dampers that can be adjusted for bump and rebound. Hennessey claims a curb weight of 3053 pounds, making the F5 barely heavier than the Koenigsegg One:1, but with 35 percent more power.
The obvious changes between the finished F5 and the original design proposal, which was shown at SEMA in 2017 and then at the Geneva auto show the following year, have been made to improve aerodynamic performance. The production car has lost the concept’s raised rear wing and gained a substantially larger rear diffuser. There are no active aerodynamic elements—unusual in this part of the market—with the F5 claimed to be able to alter downforce levels by varying ride height to adjust the angle of airflow relative to its body. The concept’s targeted 0.33 drag coefficient hasn’t been realized, but a Cd figure of 0.39 can still be considered slippery. A “track pack” that includes a separate rear wing and higher downforce will be optional, although specifying this will drop the F5’s top speed.

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Hennessey

Looking At the F5 Up Close
The standard of fit and finish of the car we saw in the U.K. seemed impressively high. The F5’s engineering team is very proud of the single-piece rear panel, which is claimed to be the largest piece of machined carbon fiber used on any road car (each of the vent holes have been individually milled). The quad exhaust tailpipes have been treated with Cerakote to help with heat dissipation; the rear lights also incorporate small vents. Unlike most competitors, the Hennessey has placed the car’s main radiators at the front, with the side vents behind the doors channeling air to gearbox and oil coolers.
The F5’s cabin is accessed through butterfly-opening doors and over a narrower sill than the hypercar norm. Space feels respectable for a car in this segment, with reasonable elbow room between driver and passenger and enough head clearance for taller drivers, although luggage space is limited to a small area behind the seats and a compartment integrated into the passenger footwell.

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Clearly designed around function rather than luxury, the F5’s interior is trimmed in leather and carbon fiber. The central screen is for an Alpine infotainment system, and Hennessey has gone to the trouble and expense of creating bespoke switchgear for the controls that aren’t integrated into the surface of the steering wheel. The wheel has a cut-off yoke design inspired by fighter jets, with knobs and buttons for wipers, lights, volume and turn signals. A rotary switch will move between the F5’s dynamic modes: Sport, Wet, Drag, Track, and F5 V.Max, with that last one bringing the full power output. Lacking airbags, the F5 won’t have full federal homologation. John Hennessey said the car will be sold under the “show and display” exemption.
The F5’s chassis development is being led by John Heinricy, former director of GM’s performance division. Hennessey says that his mission has been to create a car that will be able to deliver more than just a headline top speed. But the company is also determined to prove the F5’s potency by doing just that, with John Hennessey confirming to Car and Driver that he thinks the car will be capable of an independently verified two-way 500 km/h (311 mph). The plan is to try for an initial record on NASA’s 3.2-mile-long Kennedy Space Center runway next year, and then potentially to switch to a closed public highway if this proves insufficiently long.
Hennessey also told C/D that between 12 and 14 of the 24 F5 slated to be built have already been sold, and that his company is planning to follow it with other models, likely using a version of the same core architecture. “The F5 is the first, but at some point over the next several years you’ll potentially see another one or two vehicles,” he said. “But we have no desire, plan, or intention of building a car with a greater level of power to weight or absolute performance than the F5.”
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Mercedes-Benz has shared new photos and the production timeline of its lineup of electric vehicles that are coming in the next few years. More

Hot Wheels ID Jaguar i-Pace eTrophy
amazon.com
$6.99

Perhaps you took a look at the 2021 Jaguar F-type and loved its updated look, but the $62,750 base price proved steep. Or maybe you learned that the F-type is 176.0 inches long, 75.7 inches wide and 51.6 inches tall and thought, that is 64 times too big for the space I have right now. Either way, you’re in luck. Jaguar once again teamed up with Hot Wheels to produce 1/64th scale 2021 F-type and it will cost way less than the full-size model.

L–R: Hot Wheels versions of the Jaguar F-type Project 7, two Project 8s, and the i-Pace eTrophy race car.
Robin Warner

Robin Warner

Hot Wheels Jaguar XE SV Project 8
amazon.com
$5.99

Arriving in stores worldwide today, December 15, this beautiful metallic blue Hot Wheels model captures the essence of the full size F-type with nice details like the accurately depicted creases and bulges in the hood, the quad exhaust tips in back, and the embossed Jaguar emblem on the grille, tucked away under the bottom of the hoodline. It looks cool.
And this isn’t the only recent model from the iconic British brand. Hot Wheels made a die-cast Jaguar F-type Project 7 and a XE Project 8, as well as an i-Pace eTrophy race car. They all look accurate and give you the opportunity to do the things you can do with Hot Wheels, like build ramps, take jumps, and win the big race from the living room to the kitchen.
Full-size Jaguars aren’t for everyone. It’s nice to have options.

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Last year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) changed the criteria for their Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards to include headlight quality.
Following that change, automakers have upgraded their headlights and many have standard headlights that have achieved the top rating of Good.
The IIHS evaluates headlights based on how well they illuminate both straight and curved roads.
After the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) revised the criteria for a vehicle to earn one of its top two safety awards to include headlight quality, automakers promptly responded, the safety institute claims. The IIHS revised the rule for 2020, and following that rule change, at least 10 automakers have improved their headlights for the 2021 model year.

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As a result of the rule change in 2020, many automakers fell short of the top two awards from the IIHS. And for many of those which did satisfy the IIHS’s criteria for Good or Acceptable headlights in 2020, they didn’t come standard with that level of headlight. “More manufacturers are going to a single headlight package for many 2021 models, which is a big win for consumers,” IIHS president David Harkey said in a statement. “Sometimes, taking an inferior piece of equipment off the market is as important as the invention of a better one.”
For instance, in 2020, Subaru offered multiple headlight options on the Outback, Forester, Ascent, and Legacy, with only one of the options being rated as Good by the IIHS. Now, all of those vehicles offer just one option, which is rated as Good, for 2021.
The top two awards the IIHS gives out are Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+, with the latter being the superior rating. So far through testing of 2021 models, 10 vehicles earned the higher of the two awards this year—and the lower one last year—as a result of a headlight upgrade. The Ascent is one such vehicle. The others are the Audi A7, Honda Accord, Hyundai Palisade, Mazda CX-30, Nissan Altima, Toyota Highlander, Volvo S60, Volvo XC40, and Volvo XC60.
The IIHS rates headlights based on how well they illuminate straight and curved roads; headlights rated Good, on their low setting, can illuminate the right side of the road at least 325 feet ahead (IIHS notes that the worst headlights are good for only 220 feet, and sometimes less). The IIHS also awards points for vehicles with high-beam assist, which automatically switches between high- and low-beams. The agency also deducts for any headlights if they produce a glare that can blind oncoming drivers.
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Automakers and the government can’t agree on how cars should talk to each other. More

Amazon-owned Zoox today unveiled its “purpose-built robotaxi” that is fully autonomous and can seat four people seated face to face.
The shuttle is 142.9 inches long, putting it about halfway between a Smart Fortwo and a Toyota Corolla, and has a top speed of 75 mph, the company claims.
The shuttle will be built in the U.S., but there is no word on a manufacturing partner or a timeline for production.
The homogenization of autonomous shuttle design continued today, with Amazon-owned Zoox unveiling its vision of a robotaxi future. The name “Zoox” is also the vehicle’s name, which its maker says is “built for riders, not drivers.”

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The fully electric autonomous vehicle seats four passengers and has zero controls for a driver. Its design is similar to what we’ve seen from Cruise, Toyota, and other companies working on self-driving shuttles. What sets the vehicle apart from those offerings is that Zoox says it has a top speed of 75 mph, giving it the option of escaping from surface streets and hitting the freeway while in service. Cruise has yet to announce a top speed for its Origin, a similar autonomous shuttle unveiled last January.

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Zoox

The all-wheel-steering Zoox is also bidirectional, meaning that no matter where you’re going it’s pointed in the right direction. It’s also equipped with a unique airbag system that, Zoox says, gives each of the four passengers “five-star crash safety protections” because the airbags “envelop passengers.” With all that, it’s also much smaller than a traditional compact vehicle. At 142.9 inches long, it’s almost 40 inches shorter than the 2021 Toyota Corolla.
As expected, the vehicle is outfitted with a host of sensors including lidar to help to navigate the road. The company says it has 360 degrees of overlapping views and can see nearly 500 feet away in every direction.
The Level 5 autonomous vehicle (meaning it has no driver or controls and is able to handle driving conditions on its own) has a 133.0-kWh battery pack, which the company claims will allow it to operate for 16 continuous hours. Unfortunately, that number doesn’t really give us an indication of the range of the vehicle. But with a pack capacity above 130.0 kWh, it’s likely to have a range of at least 300 miles, although this vehicle is still in the testing stages and these specs have not been proved yet.
Zoox is currently testing in Las Vegas, as well as in San Francisco and Foster City in California’s Bay Area. There’s no word on when the Zoox shuttle will be available for trips around town or which company Amazon or Zoox is working with for manufacturing. The company has said the robotaxi will be built in the United States, but no release date was named.
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CNBC reports that Tesla will shut down its Model X and Model S production lines for 18 days during the holidays, starting on Christmas Eve.
Employees who work the lines will receive one week of pay and one week without pay, although they are being encouraged to try to slot into other shifts or tasks during that time.
The news was shared via email on Friday, the same day an email from CEO Elon Musk asked employees to increase production.
Getting extra paid time off during the holidays can be great. Losing a week’s pay, on the other hand, can mean the difference between paying bills and sinking into debt. That’s what it looks like is happening to Tesla employees who work on the production lines of the Model S and Model X this holiday season.
CNBC reports that on Friday Tesla employees at the Fremont factory received an email informing them that the Model S and Model X production lines would go dark for 18 days starting December 24 and resuming on January 11. During this time, the affected employees are to receive one week of paid time off, from January 4 through January 8. But December 28 through December 30 will be unpaid.

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During that time, Tesla says, affected employees can attempt to pick up shifts in other parts of the factory or volunteer for deliveries from December 26 through December 31. The email states: “There will also be limited paid opportunities for you to support other shops or volunteer for deliveries during some of this time.” If employees want to work in other parts of the facility or volunteer over the holidays, they need to sign up quickly because there aren’t enough opportunities for other tasks to include everyone. Apparently, nothing rings in the new year like working for free.
Why Tesla is shutting down the lines of its two premium vehicles is unknown. It might be due to the lack of demand for these vehicles. For its third quarter, the company noted that those vehicles only made up about 11 percent of the Teslas delivered. It could also be the company retooling the lines because of the ongoing suspension issue with the Model X that’s caused a recall in China and an investigation in the United States. There’s also the possibility that the lines are being retooled to update the Model S and X.
Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent out an email on the same Friday asking employees to increase production as much as possible during the rest of the current quarter. The CEO is currently worth $148 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the second richest person in the world, behind Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
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Alfa Romeo is sending off the 4C Spider with a special-edition 33 Stradale Tributo model that honors the 1967 33 Stradale mid-engine sports car.
The 4C Spider 33 Stradale Tributo is finished in a new, exclusive Rosso Villa d’Este (red) with carbon-fiber trim, gold wheels, and a black and brown interior.
They’re limited to 33 examples in North America and will cost $81,590 when they arrive in February.
Alfa Romeo has discontinued the 4C coupe, and soon the 4C Spider is going to say goodbye, too. Alfa is sending off the little rear-wheel-drive targa with a special-edition model that honors the 1967 33 Stradale mid-engine sports car. Production is limited to 33 cars bound for North America, and they’re finished in an exclusive red with gold wheels.

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Alfa Romeo

The unique exterior color is called Rosso Villa d’Este, a new color specifically reserved for the 33 Stradale Tributo. Alfa Rosso and Rosso Competizione are the other red exterior color options available on the standard 4C Spider. The special red looks great paired with the gold five-hole wheels and the black suede and tobacco leather interior. It also comes standard with carbon-fiber trim and Italian flag mirror caps. And it wouldn’t be a limited-edition model without plaques on the dash, doorsills, and center console.

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A 237-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine powers the 2020 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, and it sends power to the rear wheels through a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. During Car and Driver testing, a 2015 model launched to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds on its way to a 12.8-second quarter-mile at 107 mph. In 1968, an Alfa Romeo 33 coupe reached 60 mph in 6.0 seconds in our testing. The 4C Spider 33 Stradale Tributo comes with an Akrapovic dual-mode center-mounted exhaust and a race-tuned suspension.

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Alfa Romeo

The 2020 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider 33 Stradale Tributo will arrive in the U.S. in February, priced starting at $81,590. The special-edition cars come with a matching, numbered book that highlights the 4C’s design, technology, materials, the Modena factory, and the history of the 33 Stradale.
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