SEMA: Hennessey reveals 484km/h Venom F5

Hennessey Performance has unveiled an all-new hypercar with a claimed top speed of 484km/h (301mph).

Called the Venom F5, this latest projectile from the Texas-based specialist follows its old Venom GT, which suddenly seems a laggard with a top speed of 'only' 435km/h.

Said to be all-new from the ground up -- unlike the Venom GT, which is a heavily modified Lotus Elise -- the Venom F5 sits on an all-new chassis and employs a twin-turbo V8 engine developed by Hennessey Performance.

Full specifications haven't been released, but Hennessy lists the new engine as capable of producing more than 1193kW (1600hp).

Engineers have worked hard to keep weight down, however, despite its carbon-fibre bodywork, the Venom F5 weighs in at 1338kg -- 100kg heavier than the old Venom GT.

To assist those impressive speeds, Hennessy designers have turned to active aerodynamics to reduce the drag coefficient to 0.33Cd -- much better than the Venom GT's 0.44Cd.

Hennessey hasn't released precise performance figures, but claims the Venom F5 covers zero to 300km/h faster than an F1 racer.

The US car-maker also says its latest creation will complete the 0-400-0km/h time in "less than 30 seconds" -- hinting it will be more than six seconds faster than the Koenigsegg Agera RS which recently set a new record for that mark.

Expected to go on sale late 2019 or early 2020, Hennessey Performance says it plans to make just 24 Venom F5s -- each priced at $US1.6 million ($A2m).

That sounds pricey until you realise it's considerably less than the $US3 million ($A3.9m) Bugatti charges for the Chiron which can clock 'only' 420km/h.