Update 14 in Forza Motorsport (Xbox Series X|S) showcased two heavy-hitting bowties for grabs; a #77 Beretta Trans Am and the Hennessey Exorcist. Now that I got my hands on these two, let's have a word with them.
Let's begin with the #77 Beretta Trans Am that I won from the American Thunder Tour until the December 25, 2024 deadline.
The #77 Beretta Trans Am was a race car used in the SCCA Trans Am Championship during the 1988 racing season. It was one of the notable entries of that period, driven by Scott Pruett for the Roush Racing team.
Built on a modified Beretta production car chassis, it was powered by a 4.5L V6 engine producing 515HP of power, crucial for the high-speed nature of Trans Am racing. It even featured custom body modifications for improved aerodynamics, including a large rear wing and other race-specific adjustments to improve downforce and handling.
While the #77 Beretta didn't dominate the series, it was a significant entry, with Scott Pruett consistently competing at a high level. The car's performance that year was notable for its reliability and speed, making it a strong contender in many races.
Now, let's get to know about the Hennessey Exorcist, a heavily-tuned Camaro that I won from this update's Open Class Tour until the December 11, 2024 deadline.
Using the sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as its foundation, Hennessey has transformed the ZL1 into a thousand-horsepower sleeper car known as the Demon Slayer.
At first glance, it appears to be a standard ZL1, with most interior and exterior features, including the steering and braking systems, remaining unchanged. However, Hennessey has significantly increased the ZL1's power by enhancing its supercharged 6.2L V8 engine, allowing it to produce an impressive 1,000 horsepower and 883lb-ft of torque. This makes it more powerful than the Challenger Demon and noticeably louder.
Now that I got to know more about these two bowties, let's take a quick drive around Lime Rock Park to prove their worth. Roll the tapes...
As some guy said, "bowties are cool." Do you agree? What do you think of the #77 Beretta Trans Am and the Hennessey Exorcist?
The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is considered the weakest link compared to the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat or Demon, but what happens when you let Hennessey give the weakest link of the super muscle car trio a steroid overdose?
At first glance, it looks like a normal Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 except for one thing; it isn't your typical ZL1.
This is the Hennessey Camaro Exorcist, the Texan answer to the hyped Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, and true to its name, it's born to be a demon slayer...or so they say.
Using the sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as the basis for this...Demon Slayer, Hennessey morphed the ZL1 into a thousand-horsepower sleeper car. Of course, at first glance, it looks like a normal ZL1, meaning most of the stuff inside and out, especially the steering and the braking, remained intact, but what Hennessey did was inject more power into the ZL1's supercharged 6.2L V8 engine so it can produce a biblical 1000hp of power and 883ft-lb of torque. Not only it's more powerful than the Challenger Demon, but it's also louder as well.
This particular Exorcist is based on the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, the track-oriented version of the ZL1, and I won this car in Forza Horizon 5's new Horizon Story, Icons of Speed, just by clearing all chapters with a three-star ranking each.
Despite the Exorcist naming, it feels like I'm exercising my inner demons rather than exorcising them, pun intended. It's still a speed demon thanks to its straight-line performance that made it capable of breaking the 210mph top speed barrier and above all, this is the Camaro ZL1 that should have been from the very start, a proper rival to the super-powerful versions of the Ford Mustang and the Dodge Challenger.
To make the most out of the Camaro Exorcist, I sent it to the Horizon Oval Track against a pack of dummy drivers cowering in fear over its...biblical performance only a speed evangelist can truly understand. Let's cue the tape.
It's true what they say. This is about as thrilling as reading the Bible.
"And yea, though I walk in the shadow of the valley of death, I will fear no evil" because this is...The Exorcist. Old habits never go out of style but hey, this Exorcist sure knows how to R-I-O-T.
For a sleeper car, the Camaro Exorcist is the peak of the world's craziest sleeper cars in existence because while it looks like your typical Camaro ZL1, its thousand-horsepower performance is a different kind of thriller worth addictive from start to finish.
If you are willing to exercise your inner demons on the road, exercise this. Although the Demon outsmarted it just like what happened on a certain motoring TV show you are all familiar with, it's still a worthy Demon Slayer worth trying. This is muscle car performance in biblical proportions. That's The Exorcist to you.
The Category 5 hurricane has sustained wind speeds of over 157mph and such destructive force can leave its victims homeless for weeks and months. This is why the folks of Hennessey created their ultimate masterpiece that will leave the world's fastest hypercars inhabitable in its wake; the Venom F5, one of the cars you can drive in the FH5 Hot Wheels expansion.
Those who have conquered the Hot Wheels Goliath and traveled the entire map are worthy enough to drive the Texan Force Majeure capable of ripping through every speed record like a chaotic hurricane. If you're brave enough to drive it, you will be unstoppable.
So, what's it all about the F5? Not Fast Five, Venom F5. Unveiled at the 2017 SEMA Show as a concept and then in full-blown production form four years later, the Venom F5, named after the most powerful tornado speed winds on the Fujita scale, is an all-new hypercar designed and built from scratch to become the world's fastest hypercar ever made. Unlike its predecessor, it features an all-original design chassis, and carbon fiber body in the hopes of achieving the lowest possible drag of 0.33.
Powering the Venom F5 is a newly-developed Fury 6.6L V8 Twin Turbo engine that produces a monstrous 1,817hp of power output while mated to a 7-speed single-clutch paddle-shift transmission. Weighing at 3,053lb, the Venom F5 is capable of hitting 0-186mph in less than ten seconds and zero to 249mph, and back to rest will be under 30 seconds. It has a potential top speed of 311mph.
24 of these units will be made, each costing 2.1 million US Dollars, and all of them are sold out afterward.
At the moment you floor it, you have no time to talk about how fast this Venom is because frankly, this hypercar is too fast for words. At straight-line speeds, its capability to break through the 300mph top-speed barrier is more than enough to blow your minds off and because of its use of excessive force, you need to have the reflexes of an ace fighter pilot to survive driving the Venom F5. Such recoil is punishing enough for an unskilled driver playing around like boys with toys. But this isn't a boy toy, this is a real hypercar made for the world's most elite drivers ready to take the punishment from it.
Time to unleash its acid downpour as the Venom F5 prepares for a full warzone against a couple of supercars gathering around the life-size Hot Wheels track. Let's see if it can do the impossible. Roll the VTR.
Mind-blowingly quick and powerful. I guess the legends are true.
Like the Category 5 hurricane it was inspired from, the Hennessey Venom F5 has the destructive force that will leave the world's fastest hypercars inhabitable in its wake. It truly is the most terrifying Force Majeure ever to come out from the Lone Star state.
Facing this monster machine is like fighting a tornado with your bare hands. Approach with extreme caution because when the Venom F5's in play, there's no chance of surviving this shot.
Storms, typhoons, hurricanes, cyclones, they're all slightly different but they share one thing in common; to destroy all walks of life from the skies above with its razor-sharp winds, torrential rainfalls, flooding, and in rare cases, thunder and tornadoes. Of all the storms the world face, there is one storm that can end all storms and it comes from the Lone Star State.
This is the Hennessey Venom F5, the perfect storm created by the Texans to take on the world's fastest hypercars and aims to become the world's fastest hypercar in existence.
Unveiled at the 2017 SEMA Show, the Venom F5 is an all-new hypercar designed and built from scratch to become the world's fastest hypercar ever made. While the previous Venom GT is built on Lotus components on steroids, the F5 featured an all-original design, chassis, and carbon fiber body in the hopes of achieving the lowest possible drag of 0.33.
Named after the most powerful tornado speed winds on the Fujita scale, the Venom F5 is capable of achieving over 300mph of top speed courtesy of its all-new V8 twin-turbo engine producing over 1600hp of power while mated to a 7-speed single-clutch paddle-shift transmission. It has a curb weight of 2,950lbs thanks to its lightweight chassis and carbon fiber bodywork.
It is capable of hitting 0-186mph in less than ten seconds and zero to 249mph and back to rest will be under 30 seconds.
In Project CARS 3's Style Pack DLC, the Venom F5 we got is the concept while the full-blown production version went out in the open with stats bigger than what the world expected. Still, this prototype gave players a chance to experience what's like to be in the perfect storm.
Of course, being an extremely powerful hypercar with so much power pumping out from what is known to be the Fury 6.6L V8 Twin Turbo engine, it's tricky to get its launch right by the time your foot is slammed on the gas pedal and the same goes at second and third gear because, with such excessive force, you'd need to be more careful with it while trying to navigate through the corners, which is surprisingly tricky for a Texan hypercar like this.
Navigating through the corners is like sailing through the rough seas in the middle of a storm but when you took it on the straights, this is where the Venom F5 shines. It does 0-60mph in less than three seconds, 0-124mph in less than five seconds, and has the potential of a 311mph top speed. Everything you want on a hypercar like this is all here and looks like I'm onto something here.
To see if the Venom F5 has the potential to become the world's fastest hypercar ever made, I went to the most challenging racetrack ever made to prove its worth and it's none other than the legendary Nurburgring.
It's mad for someone like me to bring the Venom F5 to the Nurburgring because I have a bold feeling that the Venom F5 could become the fastest car to lap the Nurburgring. I know it sounds herculean because Hennessey hasn't quite yet accepted the Nurburgring challenge but in the interest of science and speed, I virtually volunteer to take on this brave attempt to see if the Venom has the potential to become Nurburgring's fastest. Let's roll the tape.
After one brave lap at the Nordschleife, I've lapped the Venom F5 in 6:57.060, which is slower than the real-world lap time set by the Porsche 918.
That's the best that I can do but thank goodness, it's just a prototype. Of course, if Hennessey accepted the Nurburgring challenge, the Venom F5 has the potential to become the fastest to lap around the Green Hell, but it's best to leave it to the experts because, despite the result, I've made a huge impression about the Venom F5.
With such extreme performance that can upset the world's greatest hypercars, the Venom F5 is poised to be the perfect storm known the world over. Be prepared because, by the time the Venom F5 hits the road, the world's best hypercar makers should start praying.
When it comes to speed, you can't argue about the biblical Hennessey Venom GT. This American hypercar possesses stratospheric speeds at the cost of mobility and stability, making this car suitable for the expert level drivers who want to brave through the car's unforgiving mobility and its hypersonic speeds similar to what fighters do.
With its 1200HP of power output thanks to its V8 twin turbo engines tweaked by the folks of Hennessey, challenging against this machine is considered to be suicidal unless you have no sense of directions and go straight to the finish but at the hands of master drivers, they are invincible on different challenges other than cross countrying.
According to sources, this car recorded the fastest 0-300kph time of 13.63 seconds and was verified by the Guinness Book of Records. It once set the fastest speed of 270.49mph on a certain runway although unofficial result even though it wasn't counted by the Guinness World Record for some reasons, probably production car regulations.
I only have one championship left to end before going to the Horizon Finale and for that, I've signed this bad boy for the hypercars championship, which will be my one last step towards the finale but first, some makeovers...
Call it scary but I took some cues from the hostile squadron from Ace Combat Joint Assault called the Varcolac Squadron. With the looks of the varcolac, looks like this Venom is made to invoke fear to its opponents but thanks to my skill level, looks like I couldn't try to invoke fear to my rivals. Just me because of its sensitive handling but I'm trying my best to tame this demon.
Road trip:
And now, some championship highlights:
Now that I won this championship, I have finally gained access to the Horizon Finale! Finally! We can finally finish this game once and for all! Looks like the Venom GT wasn't so bad after all as long as we're in sync together.
With the finale finally on my foot, I wonder which machine I will use to finish it? Will it be something from my past experience after getting the twists and turns in this slippery slope of the Southern European landscape? Find out soon as I...will decide which machine I will use to the finale and this will be a very big one because the finale takes place in all corners of Southern Europe. You got to be ready for it in the event the final battle is almost here.
These ultra-expensive, ultra-powerful, and ultra-rare machines can be considered themselves as "Aces" because they possessed superior capabilities, massive firepower, and road superiority a true ace should have. Whether it can be sophisticated or bewildering, to civilized to insane, the aces really are born in the perfect battlefield where only the best ace survive but which of these aces are "Ace of Aces?"
First, let's get to know the aces and first up, it's the Koenigsegg Agera. Made as the successor to the CCX, the one that Stig almost got killed while he drove one round the Top Gear track several years ago. It was powered by a turbocharged 5-litre V8 engine that produces 940PS of power and 1,100Nm of torque. 0-100kph in under 3.1 seconds and top speed of 435kph while mated with a 7-speed double clutch gearbox. It was awarded Top Gear's 2010 Hypercar of the Year.
Next, it's the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. While the Veyron is highly respected as the world's fastest machine, the Super Sport pushed the machinima to its extreme levels and with its 431.072 km/h (267.856 mph) top speed, the Veyron SS set the benchmark for the fastest production vehicles.
And lastly and notably a fierce one, the Hennessey Venom GT. This purpose-built speed demon from the Hennessey Performance Engineering possesses some record-smashing speed records with its fastest 0-300kph time of 13.63 seconds. It has clocked a max speed of 270.49mph on a runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, making it unofficially the fastest car in the world and because it's unofficial, it's not quite matched to the production numbers of the Veyron SS.
The aces are set in the Top Gear Test Track and the fastest time is the winner.
At the starting line, both the Venom GT and the Agera are struggling to get it straight because the massive torque of these two sent these two on a catastrophic wheelspin but for the Veyron Super Sport, thanks to its 4WD powertrain, got off to a rocket start smoothly but in the corners, since the Veyron Super Sport is the heaviest of the three, both the Venom GT and the Agera glide through the corners with ease. This could be very one sided.
Mind you, the Venom GT has the most powerful engine compared to the Veyron SS and the Agera and because it's lighter, this ace sweeps through the corners and straights faster than you can say "Fox Two".
Which means, that the "Ace of Aces" goes to the Venom GT because not only its twin-turbo LS9 V8 engine possess a massive firepower but its lightweight bodywork has greater superiority on the track making it the ideal multirole in the high speed stakes and track days. This million-dollar hypercar is by no means the Ace of Aces in an all-out ace combat on Forza 5.
Hennessey Performance Engineering, a Texas-based tuning company specialized on creating one of the finest tuned cars in America. It was founded in 1991 by John Hennessey, whose competitive spirit, engineering creativity, and burning desire made him creative to create fast cars out of them. His first project was modifying the Mitsubishi GTO, which participated in various events that included Nevada open road races, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and a record setting 173-mph run at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Later on, Hennessey tunes some of the finest Japanese sports cars such as the Toyota Supra and the Mazda RX-7 until in 1993, Hennessey Performance challenged themselves by modifying Dodge Vipers that made him competitive in similar events. His creation, the Hennessey Venom 500 Viper was born and the 163mph beast in the Silver State Challenge attracted much attention. The year 2005 saw Hennessey Performance pushed further with the goal to tune the Ford GT into something capable of shattering the 200mph barrier. With several years later of tuning success, the one man tuning firm became a 30-employee company located at a 30,000-square foot facility off Interstate 10 about 45 minutes west of Houston. Out of Hennessey's finest tuned machines, one car stands out among the rest...
A Taste of Venom
It's called the Venom GT, Hennessey's pride and joy that is based on the Lotus Exige and powered by the turbocharged version of the engine that powers the Corvette ZR1. Beware of its venomous looks and its quirky handling that will become extremely lethal even the slightest mistake. This is getting more dangerous to drive than the Koenigsegg CCX, just, faster than the original Bugatti Veyron, and this Venom shouldn't be called a Venom. This is a potential Devil car you can buy for a million pounds. Sounds explosive but just how "Devil" is this real-life Devil car?
The Devil wears "Lotus Elise"
Simple, just like the Noble M600 we tried a few months ago that has three adjustable modes that you can choose from 450HP up to 650HP, the Hennessey Venom GT also has three adjustable power modes but this time, hairy-chested drivers have the choice to drive it at 800 bhp, 1,000 bhp & 1,200 bhp. On the maximum power mode, it will get 1,155 lb-ft of torque and it has a power to weight ratio of 767.23 hp per ton or 2.61 lbs / hp. In Top Gear math, this is more powerful than the Bugatti Veyron! Oh, speaking of "more powerful than the Bugatti Veyron", hear this; 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds and 0-200mph in 15.3 sec. (Bugatti Veyron = 24.2 sec.) Here you go. One simple science lesson that the power to weight ratio of the Venom GT is more powerful than the Bugatti Veyron, making it a formidable for you wouldn't want to see one at your rear view mirror.
When I first tried the Hennessey Venom GT, this Lotus-based hypercar is just too hyper. This car is way too fast and very very difficult to drive. It only works if you are hairy-chested or brave enough to tame the venom within your veins. When you put your foot in the pedal, your body becomes extremely drunk with power and soon, you will become enslaved to the Venom GT's powerrr!!! POWERRRRR!!!! It turns experienced drivers into a prisoner of its kind where he can't escape the Venom GT and if you overstuck the mark, even slightly, it will kill you, harshly. It will always harass you more than the Koenigsegg CCX and worse of all, your experience to the ride quality of the Venom feels like you've been stabbed by the knife.
The killer handling is what made the Venom GT special...
The Hennessey Venom GT demands FEAR and RESPECT among the hairy-chested of the car enthusiasts, even those Forza Faithfuls who got their hands on the star attraction of the May Top Gear Pack, which is now on sale. If you've been harassed by someone driving a Venom GT, your best bet is to surrender now unless you find something to exorcise this car on the track. If your in the Venom GT, be warned that the devilish exterior and the harassing cornering is truly a WORK OF A "Le Crinale" or "The Devil" (sorry about this...) and if it happened just like Stig crashed the Koenigsegg CCX, I don't care because the devil's already got you as his prey. Yep, the Venom GT is somewhat the kind of car you will be stuffed. If only someone as brave as The Stig, would be wise to choose it.
The cone...already harassed by the Venom GT
This car really harassed me...a lot. But being harassed by the Venom GT's looks and handling is just what makes it special.
