Hennessey Venom GT claims world’s fastest car record with 435km/h run

The US-built, 928kW supercar - which is based on a Lotus Exige but is powered by a 7.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 - managed the feat on the 5.18km runway the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the results were reportedly confirmed using a Racelogic Vbox satellite-based telemetry system.

However, the car's speed record will not be ratified by Guinness World Records, as Hennessey only completed one run - in order for it to be recognised, the car was supposed to have run twice in opposite directions, with the average of both runs recorded. The company says NASA would not allow the car to make two passes. To be eligible as a production car, Guinness now requires that 30 examples will be built, and only 29 Venom GTs will be made.

The company says the car was still accelerating when the record was set, but the car required almost one kilometre of running distance to slow down. According to reports, driver Brian Smith had 4.18km to hit v-max before slowing - but he claims the car was "still pulling" when he began the process of bringing the car to a halt.

That means the 431km/h record top speed of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport - which was revoked and then reinstated in 2013 - remains the official benchmark. The Venom GT is, however, the record holder for being the quickest car to hit 300km/h from a standstill in just 13.63 seconds.