The Hennessey Venom GT is Finally Street Legal

Every once and a while in the automotive world, something happens that takes our breath away. No I am not talking about making leaps forward in in-dash navigation or your car stereo, no we are talkin about speed. Not just speed but more speed than anyone else on the plant…even Bugatti! Hennessey a company known mainly for supercharging cars and trucks for extreme performance has now made their own car. When they announced their own car most of us assumed that they would be basing it off some American car of some type. The company surprised us all when the released pics of their 1000 HP beast but none of us expected it to be street legal.

Recently Hennessey showed off the GT at Jay Leno’s garage, this is their 6^th car that they brought and amazingly it is street legal. Street legal means that the car meets safety standards and has all the equipment required by the US government. This is an amazing feat because a company like Bugatti is backed by VW and they are the largest automotive entity on the planet. Hennessey is a small company that does not have the resources…guess they did some serious begging with investors. 

Now on to the speed and power that the Venom GT creates…0- 60 yup that is 2.5 seconds, for example a Corvette ZR1 takes 3.4 seconds to make the same trip. Now that is fast but where this car really makes itself stand out is the 0 – 200. That time would be 15.3 seconds and that is 9 seconds faster than the Veyron which is the fastest car in the world. The goal if the venom is to outrun the Veyron bringing the title of the world’s fastest production car to the US.  Now I don’t know about you but I really want to see these 2 monsters go head to head in an all-out drag race to 280 MPH. Oh and I also want to own one for myself hey it might not be good parking it on the street but sometimes you just gotta live your dreams…right?

The Aston Martin Cygnet, It May Have the Badge but Should it

A few years ago the regulatory commissions for car companies decided that all companies must meet an emissions standard across their entire range. This means more than just making cars that use efficient oxygen sensors and engine control module units, this means econo-box cars from all builders. This regulation is not a big deal for companies like Porsche and Lamborghini since they are owned by VW. The issue really falls on companies like Pagani and Aston Martin, companies who only make fire breathing supercars. The solution is to sully the name of the company by creating something completely out of character. In the case of Aston Martin they have created the Cygnet, this is basically a Toyota iQ with a fancy dress. Now I don’t know about you but to me there should never be an economy Aston Martin.

The Cygnet is a $18K Toyota that has been dressed up and looks to hit the US market at more than $40K, is it worth it? Well the Cygnet does get quite the rework when Aston Martin get their hands on it. The engine is beefed up…slightly but is still a hyper mileage 4 banger. The exterior gets some new body panels and a coat of paint that would make a show car jealous. The interior is reworked with DB9 level leather and wood. Impressively hand crafter interior pieces and exterior trim work together to create an amazing transformation into an Aston Martin.

The question we have to ask is…has it worked? Is this vehicle an Aston? In a word, no…even though hours and hours of hand crafting have gone into this car it is no Aston. Look at it this way, you are out to dinner with a date and she asks what you drive. Proudly announcing “I have an Aston Martin” but after dinner walking out to the parking lot may be an embarrassing event.  In the end an Aston Martin is all about insane style and the Cygnet just does not fit the bill…the $45K bill. 

Did the Danish Build a Supercar that can Hang With the Big Boys

Every year a few small car companies come along and think they know better than Ferrari and Porsche when it comes to car building. Most of the time these car some up short with quality issues arising with parts that look like they are built by children. The in-dash navigation or car stereo, which in a normal car are built for the specific vehicle in most cases but in small shed built supercars they are pulled from other cars. In other words while the car may look amazing from a distance when you get up close things just don’t seems right.

The curse of all cars is that individual components cost a lot to have them custom built for a truly bespoke vehicle. Recently the Danish company Zenvo has decided to undertake the monumental task of creating a supercar and what’s really amazing it looks stunning. All of the parts for the car are built specifically for this one application hence everything looks like it belongs. The car is known by the name Zenvo ST1 and this beast houses a turbo and supercharged V8 creating over 800HP per ton. This means that this first time supercar can hit speeds of 60 mph in the low 3 second range and a top speed over 230MPH.

While the performance of the ST1 may be staggering the looks are what really sets this car apart in the current field of supercars. The striking looks are reminiscent of something from blade runner and there is nothing else on the road that looks anything like the Zenvo. Sharp angles and an unrelenting quest for aerodynamic style have made the body not only sleek but slippery enough to pass the super-duper car holy grail of 230 mph. So now that you are intrigued and want one, let us talk price. There is no easy way to say this…it’s 1.7 million dollars before options. While this may seem like a lot of money (and it is) keep in mind that the average Occupy Wall street offender can still afford it even though all we can do is dream. 

A Lamborghini Aventador VS a Ferrari 458 Turbo...Dream Cars Head to Head

We all love a good race and we all love supercars, the only thing we love more is a modified supercar. Unlike a normal car with a turbo or super charger strapped to it supercars are purpose built machines that are for one thing only.....Speed! The trend of modifying a car is not just limited to Honda's with a fart can on the back of it....the need to make things fast spans all ages. Carroll Shelby is 90 and he is still supercharging mustangs and making cars that rival the Bugatti Veyron in top speed.

There are not many of us who can afford to even look at a Ferrari 458 much less think about adding a turbo system to it once we get it. Usually the people who can afford that kind of thing are not really in the mind set to do it. After all 1% of the population hold 99% of the wealth and that that does not leave the rest of us with much. Recently Underground Racing released a video of their twit turbo Ferrari 458 Vs a Lamborghini Aventador where both cars are sporting 700HP as a bit of promotional material.

The idea was to show the amazing speed of the 458 after adding the kit seeing as the Aventador can do 0 - 60 in less than 3 seconds. The final result of the race is pretty stunning since the Ferrari blows the doors off the Lambo. This may not be a fair comparison in so eye since this is a stock car vs a modified but in this case it is ok. The Lamborghini is designed to be as fast as possible so if you can out run it you are doing something right. Check out the video on youtube to see the results for yourself and not to mention get to drool over 2 beautiful supercars.

The Pagani Huayra makes other super cars look juvenile

Each car make on the planet has a specific purpose, they all want to sell their cars and make money. Not every company goes about this the same way. When someone like Ford creates a car they build it for function so the steering rack or steering gear box are all there to “work” but not to make the driver passionate. Small car companies are usually more interested in creating a driving experience that inspires the driver to feel passion for the car or for driving. Companies such as Ferrari and Lotus are more about the way a driver feels then about mass producing a cheap hatchback for the general public. Even Ferrari and Lotus have quotas to meet and huge companies to satisfy. Pagani on the other hand is a completely different type of company they are built around one man’s dream.

Horatio Pagani set out years ago to make a car that was his dream and the idea was simple. Make the fastest car they could possible build and who cares how much it cost. The car had to look good and make the driver feel like a 12 year old boy staring at a poster of a supercar on his wall. The first car that was built was called the Zonda which quickly took the top spot on most people dream car list…that includes my own. After about a decade the Zonda’s production run has come to an end and while that is sad it means there is a new model that is ready to make us all green with envy.

Over the last few years Pagani has been upgrading and testing higher and higher performance parts in their track versions of the Zonda all for the purpose of installing these exact parts in their new street car. A year ago we got the first few glimpses of what they were planning and what a shockingly beautiful creation it is now that it has come into full view. This new car is called the Huayra and if you are having trouble saying it, it sounds like this “why-ra”.  This car was built from conception to production all on the vision of Horatio and has now finally hit the streets of the USA but only for a test drive with Jay Leno in the passenger seat. It will be another year before any of us can get behind the controls. Of course to get behind the wheel the size of the check you will have to write will be bigger than the mega mansion you will live in. There is no way to soften the blow…its 1.5 million dollars. It is a small price to pay for the most exciting car that has ever been built for the streets and even better…the US streets.

This Year’s Monterey was Something Amazing to Behold

There are car shows and then there are CAR SHOWS, Monterey is the latter. This show it the crème de la crème of the automotive world. We are not talking about Ponitiac fuel pump and fuel injector units here. This is a no hold barred brawl of the most beautiful and amazing car that the world has ever seen.  As an example there were a number of cars carrying price tags so high that even Steve Jobs might think twice. Yeah lets be honest it wouldn’t phase him to buy one but still 2.6 Million dollars for one car is quite the asking price.

One such insane car is the new SSC Tuatara which is the latest offering from the Shelby company and the word bespoke is used a number of times when this car is mentioned. This car is a space age material covered high speed monster that will be a contender for the fasted production car on the planet for sure. The Tuatara features a 7.0L turbo charged motor creating more than 1300 HP and is looking to not only top the 270MPH barrier but also capture the fastest time for a production car around the Nurburgring. The best part about this car is it looks like something out a movie based years in the future and yes it is the car in the main image of this blog.

Bugatti had one of the more interesting cars that has been shown in many years but not for the reason you may think. This particular car is in fact a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport that has been custom built with porcelain worked right into the pain and while not everyone may agree with the styling of the car it can be said it is quite stunning to behold even if it is just in high def pictures. One last think about the car it has clear tail lamps and cops love to pull people over for clear tail lamps. Over 2 million for a car and a top speed of over 260MPH and you get stopped for something that trivial. Just saying it would be funny.

If anyone who could not get into the show it-self was feeling left out there was really no need, the parking lot of the even was any car guys dream. Just in a few short minutes walking around the grass lot that was the parking many Porsche carrers GTs and Lamborghinis can be seen. Enough Ferraris, Rolls Royce and Bentlys to make Rodeo drive loot like the poor house and even a Veyron or 2 all making me think why pay for a ticket. The other thought in my head is what do these people do for a living and how nice it must be to have that kind of speed at your finger tips …well toe tips.