Hennessey Venom 1200 Shelby GT500 Lays Waste to Z06 on Track
C8 Corvette Z06 might be getting all the hype, but it’s no match for this Hennessey Venom 1200 Shelby GT500 in a straight line.
The S550-generation Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 bowed out after the 2022 model year, leaving a sizable hole in the lineup as one would expect from the most powerful production pony car to date. Of course, this was inevitable given the pending arrival of the all-new S650 gen Mustang for the 2024 model year, and we suspect that the GT500 will return at some point in the near future, too. In the meantime, those that own an S550 GT500 can take their cars to the literal next level with the Hennessey Venom 1200 Shelby GT500 – one that’s easily capable of blowing away newer machinery like the much-hyped C8 Corvette Z06.
That much is clear in this video from the Texas-based tuner, which recently pitted a Hennessey Venom 1200 Shelby GT500 against the heavily-hyped mid-engine, track-focused machine. The newest Z06 is packing the most powerful naturally-aspirated V8 ever to see use in a production vehicle, GM’s 5.5-liter LT6 that cranks out 670 horsepower. Mated to a quick-shifting dual-clutch gearbox, it’s capable of ripping off 2.6-second 0-60 runs with ease.
In stock form, the S550 Shelby GT500 makes an even better 760 horsepower from its supercharged 5.2-liter Predator V8, but this example is obviously not stock. Rather, Hennessey adds a bevy of upgrades including a beefier intercooler, a new engine and transmission calibration, a high-flow induction system, a new supercharger hub and pulley, high-flow injectors, and – as we can see in this video – a Whipple supercharger, which replaces the factory blower. The results of those upgrades are a cool 1,200 horsepower, though customers can also opt for a slightly more reasonable 1,000 horsepower from the appropriately named Venom 1000.
As one might imagine, even though the GT500 weighs more than the Z06, the fact that it makes nearly twice the power is more than enough to overcome such deficiencies. While the Z06 manages to somewhat hang for the first portion of this roll race, the Hennessey-modified Mustang quickly begins to pull away and leave it in its wake, crossing the finish line a few bus lengths ahead of its rival.
The group switches passengers and gives it another go, but this time, the result is precisely the same, with the Z06 left staring at the distant taillights of the Hennessey Venom 1200 Shelby GT500 by the time both reach the top end of the track. While this may not be a huge surprise, it is nice to know that we pony car fans can still have a machine that’s more than capable of hanging with the latest and greatest American supercar, at least – and it also has us pining for an updated S650 version, too.
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