Hennessey GT-R exposed. Not good.
Feb 16, 2010 | 05:27 PM
#1
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Hennessey GT-R exposed. Not good. Certainly not much of a surprise given this company's well documented reputation. This was their "prototype" car that was sold for $90k. Hard to believe a tuner would let a car with their name all over it out of the shop with this poor quality of work.
For the whole thread - Where did the Hennessey GT-R End Up? - NAGTROC - The Nissan GT-R Owners Club
The white Hennessey GT-R that was in you-tube videos and then was sold on E-bay to a young man in Washington State ended up at Cobb/Surgeline Tuning in Portland today for some much needed mods. Has running problems and I'll post a few pics and see what you guys think.
Intake boot trippled up:
Stainless steel intake....note MAF cutout
Sheet metal screws holding MAF in intake tube
Bent up MAF tabs, Fubarr'd sealing gasket
Intake boot trippled up:
Stainless steel intake....note MAF cutout
Sheet metal screws holding MAF in intake tube
Bent up MAF tabs, Fubarr'd sealing gasket
For the whole thread - Where did the Hennessey GT-R End Up? - NAGTROC - The Nissan GT-R Owners Club
Feb 16, 2010 | 05:49 PM
#4
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Posts: 3,264
I expected much worse based on the title. Seems they're getting much better at putting cars together.
Used to be: Measure with a thumb, mark with chalk, cut with an axe.
Now it appears to be: Measure with a ruler, mark with a sharpie, cut with a sawzall.
Used to be: Measure with a thumb, mark with chalk, cut with an axe.
Now it appears to be: Measure with a ruler, mark with a sharpie, cut with a sawzall.
Feb 16, 2010 | 05:51 PM
#5
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,659
From: Plano, TX
Hennessey response-
First let me introduce myself. I am the General Manager of Hennessey. While John has commented on his past on this forum I will leave that alone but I will address this vehicle as it was brought to my attention today. I have shipped over 350 cars since I have been here in the last two years and you will find no unresolved issues.
This GTR was one of the very first GTR's into the country. We bought the car, paid a premium for it so we could get it to the media right away. No parts or pieces existed for this car at the time. This car was purely a prototype, built in three days from the day we acquired it to be tested by the media. It was featured in many magazines, performed perfectly and if I recall was 0-60 in 2.8s and 10.8 in the 1/4. Then we did some stuff with it for Texas mile where it also performed great and still holds the record I think. While our production cars are totally different as you can see by the custom flanges and hoses. We have modified over 40 GTR's to date with our production pieces and we also sell our kits to many other shops.
As far as this customer, I spoke to him a few months ago and told him we would happily address any issues he was having for no charge. He has had the car for about 9 months I believe and was delivered running great. He mentioned to me it started running funny and that is when i told him we would take care of it. Also this customer bought this car off of ebay knowing the history of the car and knowing it was a prototype car.
But why anyone without the facts would choose to bash us I find alarming. My phone number is not hard to find. I feel it would be better served to call and get the facts instead of trying to slam another company. It is very unprofessional to try to bash another company just so you look better. If anyone has any questions my number is 979-885-1300.
Either way those are the facts and do with them as you wish.
This post has been edited by dave@hennessey: Today, 01:35 PM
This GTR was one of the very first GTR's into the country. We bought the car, paid a premium for it so we could get it to the media right away. No parts or pieces existed for this car at the time. This car was purely a prototype, built in three days from the day we acquired it to be tested by the media. It was featured in many magazines, performed perfectly and if I recall was 0-60 in 2.8s and 10.8 in the 1/4. Then we did some stuff with it for Texas mile where it also performed great and still holds the record I think. While our production cars are totally different as you can see by the custom flanges and hoses. We have modified over 40 GTR's to date with our production pieces and we also sell our kits to many other shops.
As far as this customer, I spoke to him a few months ago and told him we would happily address any issues he was having for no charge. He has had the car for about 9 months I believe and was delivered running great. He mentioned to me it started running funny and that is when i told him we would take care of it. Also this customer bought this car off of ebay knowing the history of the car and knowing it was a prototype car.
But why anyone without the facts would choose to bash us I find alarming. My phone number is not hard to find. I feel it would be better served to call and get the facts instead of trying to slam another company. It is very unprofessional to try to bash another company just so you look better. If anyone has any questions my number is 979-885-1300.
Either way those are the facts and do with them as you wish.
This post has been edited by dave@hennessey: Today, 01:35 PM
Feb 16, 2010 | 06:08 PM
#7
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The response is, of course, laughable.
Then why sell it for a premium? Would you let a car like this, with your company's name plastered all over it, out of your shop if it looked like that? No shame.
Then why sell it for a premium? Would you let a car like this, with your company's name plastered all over it, out of your shop if it looked like that? No shame.
Last edited by Josh; Feb 16, 2010 at 06:10 PM.
Feb 16, 2010 | 06:11 PM
#8
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 6,926
From: Houston, TX
This sounds a lot like a tuning company bashing a competitor (not exactly something new). The guy knew he was buying a tuner's prototype, which is something I would never do (except if sharky wanted to let go of his RS for cheap 
). What this customer should have done was send it back to Hennessey to have the issues taken care of, instead of taking it to another shop, which would have no other result than drumming up controversy. I'm not trying to defend Hennessey, this is just my $.02. I agree with Simba in that I expected much worse after reading the thread title.
). What this customer should have done was send it back to Hennessey to have the issues taken care of, instead of taking it to another shop, which would have no other result than drumming up controversy. I'm not trying to defend Hennessey, this is just my $.02. I agree with Simba in that I expected much worse after reading the thread title.
Feb 16, 2010 | 06:17 PM
#9
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This sounds a lot like a tuning company bashing a competitor (not exactly something new). The guy knew he was buying a prototype from a tuner, which is something I would never do (other than if sharky wanted to let go of his RS for cheap). What this customer should have done is sent it back to Hennessey to have the issues taken care of, instead of taking it to another shop, which would have no other result than drumming up controversy. I'm not trying to defend Hennessey, this is just my $.02. I agree with Simba in that I expected much worse after reading the thread title.
). What this customer should have done is sent it back to Hennessey to have the issues taken care of, instead of taking it to another shop, which would have no other result than drumming up controversy. I'm not trying to defend Hennessey, this is just my $.02. I agree with Simba in that I expected much worse after reading the thread title.The reality is this, Hennessey sold their flagship car at a marked up price with parts on it that could eventually lead to possible engine failure. It is nice that they told the guy he could send it back (at a price I'm sure), but why offer the car in this condition in the first place? It was a way to recoup their costs on the vehicle and try to hook another customer.
Feb 16, 2010 | 06:20 PM
#10
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 7,871
From: Montreal, CA
I can understand it's a hacked together prototype to test out different solutions ... but you don't sell those cars. You either get rid of crummy stuff for the actual production pieces or let the car sit in storage. I'm glad it's not my name on the windshield.