John Hennessey and his team have already developed two flavors of the GT350. The first is able to make 575 horsepower and 511 lb-ft of torque without adding boost. Next up is the HPE850. It uses a 2.9-liter supercharger at 6 lbs of boost to make 858 horsepower and 673 lb-ft of torque.
The only problem with superchargers is that they are great for conventional V8 engines. That is ones that reach max power below 7,000 rpm. They are spun by an engine belt, at a fixed ratio from the crankshaft. He explained this when I drove his HPE1200 Ford GT at the Orange County Auto Show back in 2012. Unless you have a top-fueled dragster, a supercharger is best suited for low-rpm (under 7,000 rpm) boost.
Watch Hennessey Take Delivery of His New Ford GT
Once he added turbos to the 2005 Ford GT, they made boost more efficiently than the blower. So his team gutted the supercharger, essentially making it a pretty intake manifold. To unlock the high rpm potential of the GT350, they have added two modest-sized turbos to the already-potent V8. The result is over 1,000 horsepower along with a soundtrack that will make your mouth water. Turn up to volume and get ready for boost. The full details will be coming soon, so tell us what you think the torque number will be and stay with us for all your Hennessey Performance updates.
