America has a new supercar, and it is the Hennessey Venom GT. Hennessey is a performance shop that got sophisticated. It has been working quietly on its new supercar for a few years now, and the transformation is done from a Lotus Elise into the new Hennessey Venom GT. The new supercar is so fast that it made the Brit guys from Top Gear heads spin.

The Hennessey Venom GT is powered by the Corvette ZR1 6.2-liter LS9 supercharged engine, which produces about 729 horsepower. A 1,000-hp and 1,200-hp twin-turbo V8 are also available. All of this power is sit on a light-weight Lotus Elise body structure, which gives the Hennessey Venom GT’s curb weight in less than 2,400 pounds.

“This is not the first time that Britain and America have joined forces to produce a weapon of mass propulsion”, said company founder and president, John Hennessey. “Over fifty years ago the American-built P51 Mustang fighter aircraft was flown into history powered by a British Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Today the Hennessey Venom GT promises to set a new standard of power to weight ratio in the rarified air of today’s supercar market.”

With such a light-weight body and astronomical horsepower, the Hennessey Venom GT can sprint from 0 – 60 in just 2.2 seconds with a top speed of 262 mph on a six-speed manual transmission. Compared to the Bugatti Veyron, which has an acceleration speed from 0 – 60 mph in 2.6 seconds with a top speed of 253 mph, the Hennessey Venom GT may be the “Veyron-killer”.

To stop this venomous beast, Brembo brakes with 6-piston caliper are added in front and 4-piston calipers in the rear to give enough clamping power on the massive 15-inch carbon ceramic rotors.

Hennessey plans on building 10 units of the Venom GT yearly. Four Hennessey Venom GT’s have already been sold at about $600,000 each in this year. And you would think that the Lexus LFA is expensive at $450,000 a piece.