Hennessey History
If the Venom GT is the best street drive you’ve ever known or could even imagine, that’s because sweat-inducing automotive thrills is what Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) manufactures. Started by a youthful, speed addicted John Hennessey in 1991 with a Mitsubishi 3000GT that like seemingly every car he’s ever met, wasn't fast enough Hennessey has built a remarkable nerve tingling string of powerful and speedy cars. After modding that first turbocharged Mitsubishi, he turned to Dodge Vipers. By 1994, Hennessey Viper engine hardware was racing at Le Mans and people were starting to notice.
Five years on, the modified Vipers were named Venom 800s, with Hennessey brewed twin-turbo power good for a finger-snapping 2.9-second 0 60-mph sprint, 9.9 sec. in the quarter mile and 197 mph in the standing mile. It was the sort of performance that writes headlines, and Hennessey cars became regulars on magazine covers. The huge power attracted readers as well as customers who didn't seem to mind paying a premium for the most outrageous tuner cars in North america. By 2004, Hennessey Performance had a dozen employees and its own 143-acre Lone Star Motorsports Park,
complete with a drag strip, in Sealy, Texas.
While a dedicated home base was a sure move to stability for HPE, a year later the most fundamental improvement came when Don Goldman began his relationship with the energetic but somewhat disjoined company. The recently retired Goldman found he could only play so much golf, and his skills righting foundering businesses was exactly what the idea-rich but detail-deficient Hennessey needed.
Hennessey Performance more recently added a satellite facility in Lake Forest, California. Right in the heart of Southern California’s Orange County car culture, Hennessey West installs and services the hardware developed in Texas.
Today, the numerous cars emerging from the Texas facility range from American muscle such as Vipers and Dodges, to the entire catalog of GM performance vehicles, to Ford’s giddy-up stable. In a huge advancement over the learn by doing pathway that hot-rodders have taken since they were rolling up boxes of cigs in their shirtsleeves, HPE also formed its own proprietary Tuner School (www.Tuner School.com). It’s a huge head start in hot-rodding for 14 students per semester, with under-hood wrench sessions backed by structured classroom work. With tuition, lab and application fees, Tuner School is a $14,650 investment for the budding power builder. Upon completing the program, grads receive a certificate, job placement and referral services (more than one grad is working in Hennessey’s main shop). Future students might also soon enjoy the financial aid packages HPE is currently developing.
2014 Hennessey Venom GT Performance
Hennessey Venom GT Super Snake
Five years on, the modified Vipers were named Venom 800s, with Hennessey brewed twin-turbo power good for a finger-snapping 2.9-second 0 60-mph sprint, 9.9 sec. in the quarter mile and 197 mph in the standing mile. It was the sort of performance that writes headlines, and Hennessey cars became regulars on magazine covers. The huge power attracted readers as well as customers who didn't seem to mind paying a premium for the most outrageous tuner cars in North america. By 2004, Hennessey Performance had a dozen employees and its own 143-acre Lone Star Motorsports Park,
complete with a drag strip, in Sealy, Texas.
While a dedicated home base was a sure move to stability for HPE, a year later the most fundamental improvement came when Don Goldman began his relationship with the energetic but somewhat disjoined company. The recently retired Goldman found he could only play so much golf, and his skills righting foundering businesses was exactly what the idea-rich but detail-deficient Hennessey needed.
Hennessey Performance more recently added a satellite facility in Lake Forest, California. Right in the heart of Southern California’s Orange County car culture, Hennessey West installs and services the hardware developed in Texas.
Today, the numerous cars emerging from the Texas facility range from American muscle such as Vipers and Dodges, to the entire catalog of GM performance vehicles, to Ford’s giddy-up stable. In a huge advancement over the learn by doing pathway that hot-rodders have taken since they were rolling up boxes of cigs in their shirtsleeves, HPE also formed its own proprietary Tuner School (www.Tuner School.com). It’s a huge head start in hot-rodding for 14 students per semester, with under-hood wrench sessions backed by structured classroom work. With tuition, lab and application fees, Tuner School is a $14,650 investment for the budding power builder. Upon completing the program, grads receive a certificate, job placement and referral services (more than one grad is working in Hennessey’s main shop). Future students might also soon enjoy the financial aid packages HPE is currently developing.
2014 Hennessey Venom GT Performance
Hennessey Venom GT Super Snake
Hennessey History
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