Hennessey Special Vehicles needed just four hours to declare its new Blackbird officially sold out, following its unveiling at Monterey Car Week.
Texas-based Hennessey had already taken deposits for 60 of the 71 Blackbirds it intends to build. However, once the covers came off in California, it took only 240 minutes to find customers for the remaining 11 cars.
Unlike previous Hennessey sports cars, the Blackbird is designed to provide an analogue driving experience, rather than chase extreme performance.
This does not stop the Blackbird attracting a serious hypercar price tag, though – at $2.5 million before taxes.
The back-to-basics hypercar
Named Blackbird after the legendary Lockheed SR-71 spy plane, the mid-engined Hennessey features a new, Ilmor-developed 6.2-liter V-8 producing 850 horsepower.
This is substantially less than the Hennessey Venom F5, which serves up 2,059 horsepower in its latest Evolution specification. However, the Blackbird driving experience should be equally exciting.
Unlike the Venom F5’s twin-turbocharged “Fury” engine, the Blackbird’s high-revving V-8 is naturally aspirated. There is no hybrid assistance either, making it a far simpler proposition than many rival modern hypercars.
A six-speed manual transmission continues the pared-back theme, with a machined open-gate shifter mounted high on the center console. An exposed gear linkage highlights the Blackbird’s back-to-basics ethos, too.
Delivering what Hennessey customers want
Even with considerably less horsepower than previous Hennessey hypercars, the Blackbird certainly isn’t slow. Zero to 60 mph acceleration is estimated at 2.5 seconds, while the expected top speed is 220 mph.
A new carbon fiber monocoque chassis, which is clothed in carbon body panels, should keep the car’s weight to less than 3,000 lb.
John Hennessey, company founder and CEO, said: “Our decision to focus on driving enjoyment with the new Hennessey Blackbird clearly ticked all the boxes for our customers. With buyers tired of overly complex, hybridized cars filled with screens and lacking emotion, we knew that Blackbird fitted the brief for the car today’s buyers want.
“However, none of us expected such an overwhelmingly positive response. Selling out so fast is testament to the stunning design and our team’s appreciation of what makes hypercar ownership special.”
Hennessey plans to start production of the Blackbird from 2029 onwards, after the final Venom F5 has been completed.
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