View the galleryTraction's an important goal when you're putting down 1,200 horsepower and 1,155 lb-ft of torque in a car that weighs 2,685 pounds, which Google tells me is the exact weight of a 2005 Ford Focus. This brings us back to how the car looks. The entire body was extensively wind tunnel-tested and fine-tuned at Hennessey's hi-tech engineering arm in England to achieve maximum don't-kill-any-super-rich-dude stability.

To that end there's a massive, movable wing out back. For the first model this bit of aerodynamic magic isn't programmed to adjust at high-speed, but that is something being worked on for the next model.

Speaking of the "next model," this is it. These are exclusive first photos of the second production (third total) Venom GT in an unmissable stallion red undergoing final fine-tuning before being delivered to a customer in the United States. I did not drive in this version, but isn't this more exciting than the one we've all seen a million times?

The Venom GT sounds exactly like you'd expect a supercar to sound when it starts up. There are a lot of tired metaphors for cars with massive power idling, usually involving power tools in washing machines. They all apply here. But I'm lazy, so I'll just show you.

Out on the 1/4-mile track behind the shop I'm setting up to watch John and his crew make a few passes to properly dial the car in, but there's a problem. The car, somehow, is stuck in limp mode.

Unfortunately, even the best of American engineering can't overcome the quirkiness of English electronics. In order to properly start the car you've basically got to open the door, raise your right hand, pray to Colin Chapman, hold down the button on the key, and turn the ignition.

"There's still some Lotus in here, somewhere," jokes Hennessey.

We all laugh, but it underscores a weird reality about the Venom GT. Though it's essentially a $1 million supercar, much of the car is cheap and easy to repair by those standards. Crack a windshield or bust a tire in a Bugatti and you'll be selling off stocks to get the replacement money, but the car uses a lot of Lotus parts you can order straight from the dealership and the rubber's more common and less expensive Michelin Pilot SS tires.

With the British bugs placated and the car warmed up, Hennessey takes a gentle first pass. This is on a relative scale, so a "gentle" first pass is about as wild as anything a blown 5.0 Mustang might accomplish.

The tires, though 345/30/20 out back, still spin in the first two gears as they battle with the Category 5 hurricane levels of torque. The Venom GT makes the long trip back around, they tinker with it a bit, and off he goes again. This time it's faster, though wheelspin is still noticeable.

Now it's my turn. The reason I came out here. I'm going to be one of a handful of people to get a ride in the super supercar.