On January 21, 2013, the Venom GT set a Guinness World Record for the fastest road legal car from 0–186 mph (0–300 km/h) with an average acceleration time of 13.63 seconds.

[3][4] On April 3, 2013, the Hennessey Venom GT reached 265.7 mph (427.6 km/h) over 2 miles (3.2 km) during testing at United States Naval Air Station Lemoore California.

[5] On February 14, 2014, on the Kennedy Space Center's 3.22-mile (5.2 km) shuttle landing strip in Florida, the Hennessey team recorded a top speed of 270.49 mph (435.31 km/h) in a limited distance of 2.3 miles (3.7 km) with the Director of Miller Motorsport Park, Brian Smith, driving.

[8] As with previous speed tests, the run was independently verified by Racelogic as World Fastest road legal open-top sports car.

Normally, the forced induction 7.0-liter V8 engine in the Venom GT Spyder generates 1,451 hp (1,082 kW; 1,471 PS) and 1,287 lb⋅ft (1,745 N⋅m) of torque.

The Venom GT retains many Elise components including the roof, doors, side glass, windscreen, cockpit, floorpan, HVAC system, wiper and head lamps, although the manufacturer is not associated with Lotus Cars.

The mid-mounted engine is connected to the rear wheels by a Ricardo 6-speed manual transmission, as used in the Ford GT.

Under varying conditions on both the road and racetrack, an active aero system with adjustable rear wing will deploy.

Having decided to order a Venom GT, Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler approached Hennessey in mid-late 2011 and asked if an open-top version could be created.