Automotive

New hypercars - 1500 hp Hennessy Venom GT2 and 1400 hp Koenigsegg One:1

New hypercars - 1500 hp Hennessy Venom GT2 and 1400 hp Koenigsegg One:1
The Hennessy Venom GT2
The Hennessy Venom GT2
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The Koenigsegg Agera R
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The Koenigsegg Agera R
The Hennessy Venom GT2
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The Hennessy Venom GT2
The Hennessy Venom GT2
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The Hennessy Venom GT2
The Hennessy Venom GT2
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The Hennessy Venom GT2
The Koenigsegg Agera R
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The Koenigsegg Agera R
The Koenigsegg Agera R
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The Koenigsegg Agera R
The Koenigsegg Agera R
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The Koenigsegg Agera R
The Koenigsegg Agera R
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The Koenigsegg Agera R
The Koenigsegg Agera R
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The Koenigsegg Agera R
The Koenigsegg Agera R
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The Koenigsegg Agera R
The Koenigsegg Agera R
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The Koenigsegg Agera R
The Koenigsegg Agera R and the man who created it.
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The Koenigsegg Agera R and the man who created it.
The Koenigsegg Agera R
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The Koenigsegg Agera R
The Koenigsegg Agera R
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The Koenigsegg Agera R
The Hennessy Venom GT2
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The Hennessy Venom GT2
The Hennessy Venom GT2
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The Hennessy Venom GT2
The Hennessy Venom GT2
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The Hennessy Venom GT2
The Hennessy Venom GT2
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The Hennessy Venom GT2
The Koenigsegg Agera R at this year's Geneva Show
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The Koenigsegg Agera R at this year's Geneva Show
The Koenigsegg Agera R at this year's Geneva Show
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The Koenigsegg Agera R at this year's Geneva Show
The Koenigsegg Agera R at this year's Geneva Show
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The Koenigsegg Agera R at this year's Geneva Show
The Koenigsegg Agera R at this year's Geneva Show
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The Koenigsegg Agera R at this year's Geneva Show
The Koenigsegg Agera R at this year's Geneva Show
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The Koenigsegg Agera R at this year's Geneva Show
This image which confirmed the existence of the Koenigsegg One:1 appears on Top Speed and seemingly shows printed documentation and images of the new car on the coffee table at a private presentation.
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This image which confirmed the existence of the Koenigsegg One:1 appears on Top Speed and seemingly shows printed documentation and images of the new car on the coffee table at a private presentation.
View gallery - 24 images

The horsepower proliferation war between the world's hypercar elite looks set to explode again in the next 12 months when both Koenigsegg and Hennessy will debut new versions of their Agera R and Venom GT respectively, both with significantly enhanced performance.

Only Hennessy has officially released details to us at this stage (along with projections that its new Venom GT2 will have a top speed of 287 mph), but some very credible images and details have also emerged to confirm the existence of the outrageous Koenigsegg One:1.

Koenigsegg has been rumored to have been working on a high(er) performance version of the Agera R for some time, and the rumors gained solid foundation when Top Speed published an image (below) which seemingly shows printed documentation and images of the new car on the coffee table at a private presentation.

This image which confirmed the existence of the Koenigsegg One:1 appears on Top Speed and seemingly shows printed documentation and images of the new car on the coffee table at a private presentation.
This image which confirmed the existence of the Koenigsegg One:1 appears on Top Speed and seemingly shows printed documentation and images of the new car on the coffee table at a private presentation.

Top Speed obviously has some excellent connections with Christian Von Koenigsegg, because it has now produced more images of the new hypercar.

Cars UK has also produced an image of the new One:1 along with the news that the name signifies a power-to-weight ratio of one-to-one - that is, one horsepower for every kilogram of weight.

The Koenigsegg Agera R and the man who created it.
The Koenigsegg Agera R and the man who created it.

While no official weight has yet been stated for the new One:1, the Agera R (pictured with Christian Von Koenigsegg above) weighs in at 2,932 pounds, which means that if it were to be brought up to a one:1 ratio, it would have 1,329 horsepower to match it's weight in kilograms (1329kg).

Now the One:1, if we go on Cars UK's conversation with Christian Von Koenigsegg, is likely to be "slightly lighter than the Agera R", and that power will be "somewhere between 1250hp and 1350hp."

The Koenigsegg Agera R
The Koenigsegg Agera R

The Agera R (above) produces 1140hp, so how much the weight has gone down and the horsepower has gone up to achieve power-to-weight parity is not yet known.

The Cars UK report also states that the One:1 will cost US$2 million, and the limited production run of five cars is being aimed primarily (we're not sure if this means exclusively) at Chinese buyers. No production date has yet been set according to the report.

The Hennessy Venom GT2

More tangible and with even more exciting numbers than the Koenigsegg One:1 is the Lotus Exige-based Hennessy Venom GT2, a derivative of the Venom GT which already had what Gizmag's Jack Martin described as "the most spectacular set of numbers of any supercar: 1200 horsepower shoehorned into a mid-engined chassis that weighs just twelve hundred kilos (2,685 lbs)."

The Hennessy Venom GT2
The Hennessy Venom GT2

So in case you're not aware, the 2012 model 1200 bhp 1200 kg Hennessy Venom GT already has power-to-weight parity, and as Martin irreverently observed in the same article, makes the "267 mph 1888 kg Bugatti Veyron GT look obese." Whereas the Koenigsegg is still "early in its development", Hennessy has already produced and delivered ten such vehicles.

The current Venom GT weighs considerably less than the current "king of the road", the Bugatti Veyron Supersport, which owns the world speed record for production vehicles at 267mph. The Bugatti has less horsepower (1184 bhp), and is 50% heavier, tipping the scales at 1,888 kg (4,162 lbs). By comparison, the Venom GT2's 7.0L twin turbo V8 produces 1500 hp on E85 pump fuel, giving it 1.2 bhp per kilogram of kerb weight (2743 lbs) and a projected top speed of 287 mph.

The Hennessy Venom GT2
The Hennessy Venom GT2

The GT2 has a number of other features designed to make it more accessible than could be reasonably expected of what will possibly be the fastest car in the world when it is released, thanks to its power output (a claimed 1500 horses) and aerodynamic efficiency (aerodynamic improvements to the side mirrors, roof and front air-dam have lowered the Cd from 0.44 to 0.42).

For starters, the new double bubble roof shape means increased headroom for taller drivers and the price of the Venom GT2 will be considerably less than any of its direct competitors at US$1.25 million.

Production of the Venom GT2 will be limited to seven vehicles. Applications should be accompanied by a urine sample and a letter from the local vicar.

View gallery - 24 images
25 comments
25 comments
Dawar Saify
It's not like smartphones which become faster and have more cores and consumers are happy. These machines become fast and the road bends are the same, the length of roads is the same, and human reaction time is the same. These machines become killing machines and take a vast proportion of the rich with them. There will be a limit.
Mirmillion
Yes, limping down the local road to the grocery store or office will be disappointing but I think the boredom will be mitigated by scanning for speed bumps and potentially lip-bending parking lot entrances (navigated on an angle, of course). At least the wife will regain some much needed girlfriend time as the predictable honeymoon countdown begins with the "allowable mistress"...isn't that how these decisions are made?
Steve Jones
On the one hand, this level of performance is utterly unnecessary for the road (or even most tracks). On the other hand - those cars are Badd Asss!
Matt Rings
@Dawar: I'd rather take the sharp corner in this sports car @ 70mph (with anti-lock, anti-skid and airbag technology), than my grandfather's 1949 Buick at 45mph (with terrible steering, no seat belts, and bias-ply tires).
Though drivers will take risks with ANY car, one is more likely to survive in a high-end sports car than in an econobox with fewer safety design/engineering elements.
Ciao, Doc
Heerybull
Unless you have access to a racetrack, having this much HP and speed potential is about as meaningful as me saying that I have the power and potency to father 100,000 children. What's the point?
It's an awful lot of money to pay for nothing more than "potential"!, or have I hit upon the reason for buying these ridiculous toys in the first place?
Is it really "male makeup"!
And I do agree with Dawar Saify, above.
Gregory Minor
Dawar... This car is not for you...
Tito
The people who can afford these marvels are vain to say the least, but few are stupid. I am sure that Darwinism will claim a few souls, but most of these cars will never see there full potential. They are meant for bragging rights, and curb appeal!
No dumber than paying insane amounts of money for art, watches, etc...
Nigel Quinton
Why would anyone want one of these?
I cannot understand why anyone would want to go any faster than I can in my Tesla Roadster - which does not pollute the planet and is 100% recyclable. 0-60 in less than 4 secs and max 125 mph is enough for me - and driving has never felt safer or more fun.
(Sorry to sound like a smug git!)
Flasheroo
While the horsepower wars continue to go forward, there are no tires made that can begin to harness this torque. If the tires did exist there is noone with the skillset needed to feather the throttle. And as Dawar said previously the roads,corners and other drivers have not changed accordingly.As long as there is a reason for these cars to exist in today,s society someone will build them.
Lewis M. Dickens III
Wow,
Isn't this neat. Looks like the Venom had to paint a fake grille to mask the manic smile copied from the Mazda's.
Pretty soon you will be able to hit the accelerator and grind right through the tires, the wheels, the brake disks and into the spindles.
Quite an accomplishment!
Bill
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