When it comes to modern muscle car news it’s all been about the Camaro this week. First the Camaro ZL1 set a smoking hot time of 7:41.27 at the Nurburgring closely followed by Chevrolet announcing that the Camaro ZL1 convertible will be launching next month (read news). Now, to cap it all off specialist tuner Hennessey has revealed its latest special edition the 20th Anniversary Edition Camaro.

It’s clearly not the Camaro’s 20th birthday, but it is Hennessey’s 20th birthday so the tuner is going big with this celebratory Camaro. Officially named the HPE650 Camaro, this muscle car packs 655 horsepower achieved by fitting a TVS2300 supercharger. There’s also a new cam, replacement headers and intake and exhaust upgrades.

The upgraded engine can be matched with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission and the hot Camaro will sprint to 100 km/h in around 3.8 seconds and cover the quarter mile in 11.7 seconds. (more…)

How sweet would it be to have a quarter mile drag strip behind your place of work? Pretty sweet, but ultimately very distracting. For American tuners Hennessey Performance Design a drag strip is part of their extensive premises and is used for all sorts of tyre-destroying shenanigans which they call testing.

This ‘testing’ has seen Hennessey take out its latest hard-tuned machine – the Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca. The supercharged engine of the Boss 302 pushes out 650 horsepower which is enough to take the pony car from 0-60 mph in just 3.9 seconds and on to a quarter mile time of 11.9 seconds. Not bad for a car rolling on stock tyres.

Hennessey had cameras to catch the testing action, check out the video below. (more…)

American tuning firm Hennessey Performance has been responsible for building some of the most terrifying performance machines and has just unveiled a new package for the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe.

Called the V1000, this hardcore version of the CTS-V looks the business with a full aerodynamic carbon fibre body kit with huge bonnet vents, a low front splitter, a rear diffuser and aggressive side skirts. Mechanical upgrades include lowered sport suspension and Brembo 15-inch carbon ceramic brakes. In the cockpit there’s a reworked interior with premium leather upholstery and an Alcantara headliner.

But its under the bonnet where the real magic happens, all to reach the 1,000 horsepower mark. Power comes from a twin-turbo 427 LS V8 which has been upgraded with high-flow cylinder heads, forged pistons, rods and crank, a new crankshaft, upgraded fuel injectors, an intercooler and a revised ECU. With these extensive tweaks the engine now pumps out 1,000 hp (746 kW) with 1,286 Nm of torque. Those figures are scary enough but this machine will apparently move from standing to 100km/h in just 3.5 seconds, run the quarter mile in 10.9 seconds and go on to reach a top speed of 370 km/h. (more…)

We don’t see too many Chevrolet Camaro Convertible SS models here in NZ, in fact, we don’t see any at all. But if we did, it looks like a machine that most of us would totally enjoy. Over in the States it’s a different scene and for some the standard Camaro SS doesn’t quite pack the punch they desire.

When that’s the case, aftermarket tuners Hennessey is there to help out and to prove it, the company has just unveiled the first example of its HPE600 Camaro Convertible, complete with a walloping 602 horsepower. That’s a solid whack and a full 172 ponies more than the most powerful production example with the extra grunt coming from a TVS2300 supercharger and host of other upgrades designed to help the big V8 breathe a little easier.

Hennessey don’t just quit after the engine upgrades either and have done some serious work on the Camaro’s suspension. Buyers who opt for the muscle-bound droptop can expect to find a KW adjustable coilover suspension and wider 20-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres.

In terms of performance Hennessey says that the topless beast can get to 100kph per hour in just 3.9 seconds and can cover the quarter mile run in 12 seconds flat. This isn’t some hairdresser’s car.

To see the HPE600 Camaro drop-top in action check out the video below. (more…)

The Hennessey Venom GT is a beast of a machine it’s only got room for two and it produces about as much power as the Huntly station. It uses an LS9 V8 engine, stolen from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, this is then tuned to an awesome 933 horsepower and 874 pound-feet of torque at the rear wheels. If you think you’re a real tough guy and aren’t scared by those sort of numbers then you’ll probably be into the fact that the Venom GT also spits hot fire.

The big flame on lift-off hints at some anti-lag systems going on, by retarding timing and enriching the AFR on throttle lift, the combustion charge largely flows out of the chamber into the exhaust, raising pressures and temperatures to keep the turbos spooled until the throttle is applied once again. With enough timing retard and added fuel, you can get popping, and flames shooting out the exhausts.

Think this car’s a toy? Well check out the video below and prepare to reassess. (more…)

How much horsepower is too much? That’s a question many of us would enjoy finding the answer to, but 725 horsepower is probably about borderline. That’s what the Hennessey HPE700 Camaro is packing and it should be enough to satisfy anyone’s desires for straight line speed, especially on a street car. But for famous American car tuner John Hennessey, 725 hp isn’t enough so his latest creation the HPE800 Twin-Turbo Camaro, puts out a staggering 815 horsepower and 788 pound-feet of torque thanks to twin turbochargers bolted on to a 415ci stroker motor and a bevy of other upgrades.

If that’s not enough and you absolutely hate rear tyres and the speed limit, then Hennessey will build you an HPE1000 version complete with a twin-turbo 427ci LSX block and almost their entire catalogue of go-fast parts used. They recently strapped one down to a dyno, check it out in the video below. (more…)

Hennessey Performance takes its 725 HP LS9 HPE700 Camaro to MSR Houston for road course testing.

2010 Cadillac CTS-V runs 11.14 @ 129.95 mph with the 700 hp Hennessey V700 upgrade.