The Hennessy Venom GT Spyder has clocked the highest speed for a convertible, a record previously held by the Bugatti Veyron Super SportVitesse.

On its 25th Anniversary, Hennessy Performance, the American-based tuning company, decided to celebrate by putting a Venom GT Spyder on an empty runway. The result was 427.4 kph, making it the fastest convertible sports car in the world. The new record was set on March 25 2016 at Naval Station Lemoore, California, and the car was driven by Brian Smith, director of the Ford Performance Racing School.

Engine Power

The Hennessey Venom GT Spyder is the fastest convertible sports car in the world!

The Venom GT Spyder is powered by a twin-turbo 7.0-litre V8 engine that produces 1082 kW and 1744 Nm of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual transmission and the car is capable of 0-100 kph in about 2.6 seconds and can reach 320 kph in about 13 seconds.

The previous convertible speed record of 408.8 kph was held by the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport Vitesse.

As part of the world record celebration, Hennessey Performance is offering up three Venom GT Spyder World Record Editions at a price of over R19 million.

Watch the video below to see the Venom GT Spyder break the convertible speed record!