This Hennessey Ford Mustang Has Supercar Levels Of Power

It seems the inevitable competition to see who can squeeze the most ridiculous power figure out of the seventh-generation Ford Mustang has begun. Only last month we saw Shelby’s 810bhp GT350, and now Texan horsepower merchant Hennessey has responded with this, the 850bhp Super Venom.

It’s a package that’s available for both 5.0-litre V8 versions of the Mustang, the GT and Dark Horse, and can be paired with either the six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic gearboxes.

To reach that slightly ludicrous power figure, Hennessey has strapped a huge supercharger to the engine, as well as fitting it with a high-flow air intake, uprated injectors and fuel pump, and a recalibrated engine management system. All this also ups torque to 650lb ft, compared to the Dark Horse’s 418lb ft. 0-60mph takes a quoted 3.2 seconds, and it’ll run a 10.9-second quarter mile – improvements over a standard automatic Dark Horse of 0.5 and 1.1 seconds, respectively.

Not wanting to make it a one-trick (ahem) pony, though, the Super Venom also gets a fairly serious aero package. Called the VenomAero kit, it consists of a new front splitter, active bonnet vent, wheel arch louvres, side skirts and both a lip spoiler and a swan-neck wing, all made from carbon fibre, natch.

You also get a set of lightweight 20-inch wheels, but the rest of the changes are mostly visual: carbon fibre mirror caps and engine trim, a ‘’91 Icon’ livery referencing Hennessey’s year of founding, and a smattering of Alcantara inside.

Hennessey’s making only 91 units, also in a nod to its year of founding (1991, not 1891, in case you were in any doubt), and you can order one from selected Ford dealers in the US – although they can ship internationally. Pricing starts at $149,950 (around £118,500) for a GT-based Super Venom, and $163,950 (around £129,500) for one based on a Dark Horse, both including the base car.

You even get a three-year or 36,000-mile warranty thrown in. So, still want that Mustang GTD?