Hennessey Venom supercar narrowly tops land speed record

Supercars are designed to push the limits, be it in performance or design sensibilities. But in a flat out race, speed is everything. That’s what makes a new record set by the Hennessey Venom GT so impressive. The supercar — which runs between $600,000 to $1 million — was clocked at 270.49 mph earlier this month, reports Top Gear. That narrowly beats out a previous record set in a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport four years ago, which hit 269.86 mph. According to Top Gear’s test notes, the Venom could have hit a faster top speed if it had more room, though the race was done on a space shuttle runway at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Despite setting the record for a production car, the Venom isn’t getting a spot in The Guinness Book of World Records. The record-keeping group requires two speed runs, and that production cars have at least 30 models made. There will only be 29 of the Venom GTs made, Top Gear says.