Venom GT does record-breaking 266mph - video

US tuner Hennessey claims to have set the world record for fastest convertible production car in video released to mark 25 years of the company.

Hennessey dubiously took the crown of world's fastest car in 2014, using a Venom GT which clocked a top speed of 270.49mph at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida – "dubiously" because the car only made one run and the record is completely unofficial.

Regardless, the company has now run its latest version of the Venom, using a twin-turbocharged V8 with 1,451, on the exact same stretch of tarmac.

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The car produces a "staggering" 207bhp more than the old one and can do 0-62mph in 2.4 seconds, completing a 0-100mph dash just two seconds later. The Venom in the video has had its turbocharger boost pressure upped from 19psi to 26psi and been converted to run on ethanol for extra grunt.

Hennessey is expected to reveal the exact figure shortly, but says it will produce only "a handful" of the Lotus Exige-based 2016 Venom GTs as it gears up to produce the all-new F5.

The record could be a fly in the ointment for Bugatti. The Veyron Super Sport achieved an official speed of 267.91mph before being eclipsed by Hennessey's unsanctioned 2014 glory run. The convertible Venom's figure eclipses the top speed of the firm's newest hypercar, the Chiron.

The Chrion has an 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine producing 1,479bhp and will be limited to a peak of 261mph. That does open up space for future Super Sport versions, though, so it remains to be seen if Bugatti will rise to the bait.