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Hennessey Introduces the Venom GT

The Lotus Elise is one of the most nimble, agile sportscars on the market. The one thing keeping it from taking on the big boys is a relative lack of power: the smallest of sportscars from Lotus use small Toyota-sourced four-cylinder engines. Leave it to Hennessey to find the solution.

The American tuning house best known for modifying Dodge Vipers to 1000+ horsepower capacities has just rolled out the Venom GT. Work starts with the Lotus chassis, which is chopped up and reformed with a longer wheelbase capable of accommodating a much larger engine. A Corvette engine, in this case: to be specific, the supercharged LS9 V8 from the all-conquering Corvette ZR1. Hennessey then further tunes the engine to 725 horsepower, with the addition of a pair of turbochargers bringing output up to 1000 or 1200 horsepower, according to the buyer's specifications.

The power is handled by a six-speed manual transmission, programmable traction control and a fully adjustable suspension, and kept in check by massive 15-inch carbon-ceramic brakes. Only ten units will be built each year, starting at $630,000.

Gallery: Hennessey Venom GT