Christmas comes around so fast, and not just for kids who’ll gleefully tell you in August that there are only 122 sleeps until the big day. Down in Texas Christmas is coming in at almost 200 mph (322 km/h) after hitching a ride on a Hennessey-tuned Shelby Mustang.
For last year’s Christmas tree run Hennessey strapped a fir to the roof of an Audi RS6 Avant and sent the needles scattering at 183 mph (294 km/h). But this time the Texas tuners have swapped the Audi wagon for a Shelby Mustang GT500 painted in Eruption Green.
The standard Shelby GT500 is already a bit of a beast and comes with a factory-rated 760 hp (771 PS) courtesy of a 5.2-liter supercharged V8. But this being Hennessey, of course, the Mustang isn’t remotely stock. It’s equipped with the company’s Venom 1000 package, which, as its name suggests is packing a solid 1,000 hp (1,014 PS), along with 850 lb-ft (1,152 Nm) of torque, all of it achieved on 93-octane pump gas.
To squeeze that extra muscle out of the GT500 Hennessey adds a high-flow induction system, new fuel rails and injectors, and other mods including upgraded belts and tensioners, plus a recalibrated seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Related: How Fast Can An 800 HP, Hennessey-Tuned RS6 Avant Go With A Christmas Tree On Its Roof?
Hennessey’s silly seasonal video shows the Grinch stealing a Christmas tree and strapping it to the roof of the Mustang before professional race driver Spencer Geswein takes the wheel to see exactly how fast the four-wheeled green monster can go around the Continental Tire Proving Grounds’ high-speed bowl in Ulvade, Texas.
And the answer is very. Despite having its aerodynamics ruined by the six-foot tree mounted an inch above the driver’s head, the Mustang clocked an impressive 192 mph (309 km/h).
