Hennessey has set a new festive record after taking a Christmas tree to 315km/h on the roof of the new 2026 Chevrolet C8 Corvette ZR1.
The Texas-based hypercar manufacturer and high-performance vehicle creator set the record on a runway at Chase Field, Texas. It is believed to be the fastest speed achieved by a road-legal car carrying a Christmas tree.
Apparently the car became a little unstable when it went above 290km/h. Go figure.
The record speed was set with the tree adorned with more than 200 festive lights and holiday ribbons. It was the seventh Hennessey Christmas Tree Run and the third piloted by professional driver Spencer Geswein.
The speed record surpassed the company’s own 309km/h record set in 2022 with a Hennessey Venom 1000 Ford Mustang. The first record was set in 2017 with a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody which achieved 280km/h, and each successive run has improved on past records.
“Hennessey’s Christmas Tree Run has evolved from a crazy little holiday stunt into one of the most fun traditions. Every year we strap a tree to something a little wilder and a little faster,” said Hennessey president Alex Roys.
“It’s the kind of event that reminds you why this thing started because cars should be loud, fun and a little bit unhinged.”
The standard Corvette ZR1 used in the run is Chevrolet’s flagship model and is powered by a mid-mounted, twin-turbocharged 5.5l flat-plane crank V8 engine that produces 793kW and 1,123Nm of torque.
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