American hypercar and high-performance brand Hennessey has confirmed its attendance at Salon Privé London – and will display the extraordinary new $2.5m, 1,817bhp Venom F5 Roadster, officially the world’s fastest and most powerful roadster.

The Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster shown at Salon Privé London will be the most recently-built Hennessey hypercar – a vivid yellow Roadster – one of just 30 planned to be built. The showcase at Royal Hospital Chelsea represents a rare opportunity for enthusiasts to get up close with the dramatic new hypercar, following its debut at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering last year in Monterey, California. Production began in late 2022 with customer F5 deliveries now well into double digits.

As with the 1,817bhp Hennessey Venom F5 Coupe, the Roadster has been engineered to exceed 300mph; Hennessey expects the new car to surpass its own ‘world’s fastest convertible’ record of 265.6mph, currently held by the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder.

This has led to some extreme engineering challenges for the Hennessey boffins. The Roadster roof, for example, has been designed to withstand its extreme acceleration capabilities, and huge aerodynamic forces at hypercar speeds. And the tempered glass engine viewing window, showcasing the 6.6-litre ‘Fury’ V8, uses techniques developed and certified for use in jet aircraft. Not only can it withstand 300mph-plus aerodynamic forces, but also temperatures beyond 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (540 degrees Celsius).

Described as a moving work of art, the Roadster’s removable sculpted carbon fibre roof comes complete with its own museum-quality pedestal stand. Like the roof, it’s made from carbon fibre and carries design themes from the Venom F5 Roadster, from its blade legs inspired by the rear decklid, to the side profile modelled on the hypercar’s bodyside air intake. Each stand has a ‘Venom F5 Roadster’ script in the same eight-microns-thin aluminium as the car’s ‘H’ nose badge.

Hennessey will also make a major announcement regarding its partnership with H.R. Owen, which last year was confirmed as the sole UK retailer for Hennessey Special Vehicles, serving clients both in the UK and Europe.

“We are excited to officially launch Hennessey London and to celebrate our retail partnership with H.R. Owen at Salon Privé. With the Coupe, Roadster, and track-focused Revolution variants of Venom F5 now in production, customers around the world are taking delivery of our 1,817bhp hypercar — a genuine celebration of extreme internal combustion engineering. We already have numerous customers in Europe, and I’m hopeful of even more now that the professionals on the H.R. Owen team officially represent us,” said John Hennessey, company Founder and CEO.

“Hennessey is a thrilling, fast-growing hypercar brand that is pushing boundaries and attracting an ever-growing number of automotive connoisseur clients, who I’m sure will feel right at home at Salon Privé London and Royal Hospital Chelsea. I’m delighted Hennessey London will be launched in such dramatic style with the showcase of the Venom F5 Roadster, and I look forward to potential Hennessey customers being able to examine it up close and in person,” said Salon Privé Director David Bagley.  

Salon Privé London is one of the world’s most prestigious automotive events and the sister event to the globally renowned Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace which is now in its 18^th year. Set to be the capital’s most exclusive automotive party, Salon Privé London offers plenty to see and do in addition to the motoring attractions. There will be a luxury shopping village featuring brands such as high-end British Jewellery designer Boodles, and watches from famed luxury brand, Montblanc.

Food and hospitality will also be first class, in the famed Salon Privé tradition, with a three-course luncheon, delicious Pommery Champagne, cocktails from the London Essence Co and fine wines from Chateau La Gordonne.  

Further highlights include Friday’s Boodles Ladies’ Day, fun for all the family during Saturday at Salon Privé, plus exclusive VIP hospitality at The Sloane and DJs keeping the party going well into the evening on Thursday and Friday.