Aviation has been a long-standing muse for many of the world’s finest cars—its influence seen across the automotive timeline from classics such as the concours-winning 1935 Voisin C25 Aerodyne to the recent Czinger 21 C hypercar. The latter’s creative spark was the SR-71 “Blackbird” spy plane, and that paradigm-shifting aircraft has recently been the catalyst for another marque’s model, one developed to exist in the rarefied air of bleeding-edge engineering and design—the Hennessey Blackbird.
John Hennessey, founder and C.E.O. of his eponymous Hennessey Special Vehicles, has been on a 35-year mission to not only push the envelope, but tear right past it. The quest has led to the development of the 2020 Venom F5—targeting a top speed of more than 300 mph—as well as the 2,031 hp Venom F5 Evolution, and, earlier this year, the manual Venom F5-M. Today, Hennessey Special Vehicles unveiled its second clean-sheet creation with the Blackbird, which pays tribute to the SR-71 through ubiquitous aesthetic and functional callouts, while offering drive dynamics grounded more in comfort than the aggression found in the car’s predecessors.
Hennessey claims that the Blackbird’s new naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8—mated to a six-speed manual transmission—will give the car a top speed of 220 mph.
