Hennessey Venom GT becomes world's fastest car with 270mph speed record

The Hennessey Venom GT has become the fastest car in the world after hitting 270.49mph on Nasa’s space shuttle landing runway.

The car can vroom from 20mph to 120mph in 7.71 seconds.

Powered by a 7.0-litre twin-turbo GM-sourced V8 engine, it has beaten Bugatti’s Veyron Super Sport’s record of 269.86mph.

There are only 11 Venom GTs all over the world and each costs $1.2m (£720,000).

Former racing driver and Michelin tyre test engineer Brian Smith who was at the wheel at the time of the record said:

“It was still pulling. If we could run on an eight-mile oval we could go faster than that.

“On the very top end there was a little wandering but hey, we’re going 270mph.”

Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) boss John Hennessey said: “I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid. Neil Armstrong was my childhood hero.

“Even though the astronaut thing didn’t work out for me, I am humbled to have had the opportunity to set our speed record on the hallowed grounds of the American space programme.” 

Watch the moment Hennessey Venom GT hit 270.49mph:

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