The Hennessey Blackbird might only have just bowed, but all 71 units are already spoken for. The same can’t be said for the Venom F5, though — its 99-unit production run hasn’t even been fully detailed, with nine cars still unaccounted for. But Hennessey might have found a way to buoy sales, and it stems from something introduced in one of its wildest models.
A Manual In A Venom F5 That Isn’t An F5-M
Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Evo Manual – 2026 Monterey Car WeekHennessey
The American hypercar manufacturer announced the Venom F5-M two years ago, pairing a six-speed gated manual with a twin-turbo V8 developing 1,817 horsepower, before the first customer car was unveiled at Goodwood this year sporting 2,031 through the Evolution package. But now, it seems that the gated manual might not be limited exclusively to the run of 12 F5-M models.
During Monterey Car Week, Hennessey brought together all three of its hypercars, the Venom GT, Venom F5, and the new Blackbird for the first time in public. While the Blackbird is a pre-production model and the Venom GT has long been out of production, the Venom F5 is still in production, and the spec shown off by the brand was something special. The honey bee yellow-to-exposed-carbon ombré livery is mighty, but that’s not what caught our attention. Inside the cabin, we spotted a gated manual, in a car Hennessey has distinctly publicized as being a Venom F5 Revolution Evo, not an F5-M. So, what gives?
Well, Hennessey has confirmed to CarBuzz that the manual transmission is now available as an option for other Venom F5 variants, although the automaker never explicitly advertised it in any big way. But since it had spent the money on the development of a reconfigured carbon fiber tub to accommodate a manual shifter, it decided not to limit this advancement to only a dozen models.
So What Makes The F5-M Different If The Gearbox Isn’t Exclusive?
Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Evo Manual – 2026 Monterey Car WeekHennessey
Good question. For starters, the F5-M allocation falls within the broader Roadster category, of which only 30 will be built, but differentiates itself with exclusive styling elements. The most noticeable is the 55-inch dorsal fin, mounted to the intake scoop bolted directly to the engine. The F5-M also has an exclusive livery not found on other variants, and each customer’s car is extensively personalized, with the first having undergone the Maverick treatment with unique one-of-one elements.
But the manual now finding its way into other models does make it a little less special. However, it now means you can get a coupe, and a track-focused one at that, with the gated manual, as is the case with this latest model showcased during Monterey. And it frames recent statements from Hennessey in a slightly different light.
During the Goodwood Festival of Speed, when we asked Design Director Nathan Malinick whether Hennessey would copy Ferrari’s synthetic manual, he was adamant the brand wanted to retain the authentic experience, which has since been delivered in the Blackbird. But his statement that “the manuals are on pace to outdo [the Revolution] because it’s just so crazy,” now makes more sense. In fact, according to Malinick, Hennessey’s next year and a half of builds “are all manuals.” Why? “It’s what people want. Everyone wants a manual.”
CarBuzz Insight — Why It Matters
There are two sides to this. On the one hand, the manual no longer being exclusive to the Venom F5-M might make the dozen buyers of that special car feel like their hypercars aren’t as special as they were initially made out to be. But on the other hand, Hennessey has pushed its customization options to new heights, meaning every Venom F5 that emerges from the factory is entirely unique in its own right. John Hennessey previously told us that he wouldn’t hide developments from customers, and he would let them upgrade their cars retroactively with things like the Evolution package, so the manual development seems to fall into that category. And there’s something admirable about that, too.
