{"id":726286,"date":"2026-08-03T16:28:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/726286\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:28:14","slug":"hennessey-blackbird-brings-850bhp-manual-box-and-no-screens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/726286\/","title":{"rendered":"Hennessey Blackbird brings 850bhp, manual ‘box and no screens"},"content":{"rendered":"

American supercar maker Hennessey has revealed the wild Blackbird as its third all-new model, replacing the Venom F5<\/a> with a clear and rather different mandate: \u201cmaximum man-machine connection\u201d.<\/p>\n

Although it places a greater emphasis on driver engagement, its targeted statistics pitch it at the top of the supercar set: 800-850bhp, 0-60mph in less than 3.0sec and a 220mph top speed.<\/p>\n

Hennessey has touted a dry weight below 1360kg (3000lb) with the help of a bespoke carbonfibre tub and carbonfibre bodywork.<\/p>\n

At its heart is a high-revving, naturally aspirated V8 engine developed alongside Ilmor Engineering of Nascar fame and with a targeted red line of 9000rpm.<\/p>\n

It sends its reserves to the rear axle via an open-gate, exposed-linkage, six-speed manual gearbox.<\/p>\n

While there are electronic aids including active suspension, anti-lock braking and traction control, Hennessey pledges that the driver will be placed in the thick of the action.<\/p>\n

As well as offering a more analogue alternative to the similarly priced McLaren W1<\/a>, the supercar has been conceived as a tribute to the 1960s\u00a0Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy\u00a0plane, not only in its design cues and name \u2013 Hennessey has acquired the rights to use the latter \u2013 but via its long range.<\/p>\n

It’s first and foremost as a road car, with its development programme prioritising refinement, visibility and luggage space to \u201ccomfortably cover more than 800 miles in a single day\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Hennessey<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more cabin space than its Venom F5 forebear and enough luggage capacity for \u201ctwo full-size carry-on bags\u201d, Hennessey said.<\/p>\n

Aerodynamics still play a significant role: the active rear stabilisers, modelled on the SR-71’s tail fins, tilt up to 71deg at speeds above 71mph to maintain downforce\u00a0and the creases alongside the sidepods are an obvious link to its airborne inspiration.<\/p>\n

The quad exhaust layout is a nod to the rocket-engined Bell X-1, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier\u00a0back in 1947.<\/p>\n

The aviation theme carries over to the functional, driver-focused cabin, which features an abundance of exposed carbonfibre, visible pedal linkages and a suite of clearly presented dials and clocks in place of a digital driver display.<\/p>\n

The focus on simplicity extends to the use of a smartphone mount for infotainment, rather than a central touchscreen,\u00a0and the eradication of any buttons or switches from the steering wheel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"American supercar maker Hennessey has revealed the wild Blackbird as its third all-new model, replacing the Venom F5…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":726287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-726286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=726286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/726287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=726286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=726286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=726286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}