Can two rights make a wrong? In the case of this Dodge Viper–based special, maybe.
From the press-releases-we-never-thought-we’d-see file comes the announcement of the 2008 Neiman Marcus Special Edition Hennessey Venom 700NM, a car with a name long enough to pretty much tell the entire story, full as it is of contradiction and detail and excitement about a car that is equal parts white trash and fat-cat aristocrat. What’s next? The Kmart Blue Light Special Phantom drophead coupé?
That’s right. Instead of the usual sassy AMG Benz or M-powered Bimmer, Neiman Marcus thought it would be a good idea to offer a souped-up Dodge Viper in the pages of this year’s men’s catalog, complete with special touches such as jet-black paint, a red-and-black leather-trimmed custom interior, matching fitted luggage (of course!), special badges, and more.
Hennessey’s contribution to this whole mess includes a naturally aspirated version of the Viper’s 8.4-liter V-10 engine tuned to 700 horsepower and 645 pound-feet of torque; upgraded brakes, wheels, and suspension pieces; and an aero kit brazen enough to turn the Viper into a machine capable of offending even more Neiman Marcus customers than the standard Viper can do on its own. Can we mention the heinous rear wing?
If nothing else, it will be fast. Hennessey claims the Venom 700NM coupe can hit 60 in 3.3 seconds on its way to a rather elevated top speed of 214 mph. And we expect that a trunk full of the wife’s makeup and shoes shouldn’t slow it down too much.
All of this will come at a price of $179,500, which includes a three-year/36,000-mile warranty and, thankfully, a full-day driving school at Lonestar Motorsports Park near Hennessey’s Houston-based bunker to help keep the buyers, likely unaccustomed to driving such unruly beasts, from killing themselves (and others) at the first stab of the throttle.
Kidding aside, we have no problem with Hennessey or Neiman Marcus, however unlikely their alliance. But will two rights make a wrong? We’ll probably never find out ourselves, as only seven Venom 700NMs will be built, with no breakdown of how many will be coupes or convertibles.
If this sounds like your cup of, uh, venom, get yourself on the horn to 877-885-7077 promptly at 9:00 a.m. PST on Monday, April 10, 2008
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