#HennesseyPerformanceEngineering

Instead of the Exige’s supercharged four-cylinder motor, the Venom GT has a twin-turbo charged LS9, displacing 6.2-liters and producing a barely believable 1200-hp and 1155 lb-ft of torque. All of that power is sent to the rear wheels through a Ricardo 6-speed gearbox.

If you want the performance of a Bugatti Veyron in an all-American package (that’s one tenth the price), look no further than Hennessey Performance Engineering’s HPE1000, a $65,000 upgrade for the Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Initially thought to be a far-fetched fantasy, Hennessey Performance Engineering has announced that it will debut its Venom GT supercar at the Geneva Auto Show next year and AutoGuide has learned some important chassis and powertrain info about the vehicle. In a chat with company founder and CEO John Hennessy at the SEMA Show last week, he informed us that rather than a more obvious twin-turbo Viper V10 powerplant, the Venom GT will be powered by a version of the supercharged Chevrolet LS9 motor – the same one found under the hood of the Corvette ZR1. This also happens to be the very same engine used in Hennessey’s new HPE700 Camaro where it makes 725-hp.

One of just two vehicles worthy to flank the Mobil 1 booth at the 2009 SEMA Show is the Hennessey HPE700 LS9 Camaro. As the name suggests, under the hood there’s a supercharged LS9 motor lifted from a Corvete ZR1. The easy-to-remember HPE700 name isn’t entirely accurate, however, as the engine has been tuned somewhat to deliver closer to 725-hp. As for torque, it’s rated at 741 ft-lbs from just 3200 rpm.

We had all but relegated Hennessey’s Venom GT supercar to the concept car history books but it appears as though the 1,200hp monster is anything but a piece of fiction. Hennessey Performance Engineering, known best for tuning Dodge Vipers, has announced that it will build the car and unveil it at the Geneva Auto Show this winter.