Last month, Michael Jordan celebrated two decades since he retired from the NBA (April 16, 2003). And if you check out the Association’s official website, you’ll find that “by acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.” Nowadays, MJ is a businessman, owns an NBA and a NASCAR team, and, more importantly, for us gearheads, continues to refresh his car collection. In fact, the former No. 23 Chicago Bulls star recently added a Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Roadster to his notorious garage. Never heard of this version of the hypercar before? Nobody has, because it’s brand new!
Company founder John Hennessey personally delivered the open-top speed devil to the star at Jordan’s Grove XXIII, a former citrus grove in Florida that became the basketball legend’s private gold course in 2019.
What is the Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Roadster
Hennessey‘s Venom F5 originally made headlines for its ambition to become the fastest production car in the world, with a projected top speed of over 311 mph (500 mph).
Now, we’re still waiting to see that stunt in the real world. However, as of January this year, the Texan builder added a third, downforce-focused track version to the Venom F5 Coupe and its F5 Roadster derivative, namely the Venom F5 Revolution Coupe. Note that all three are powered by a twin-turbo V8 with 1,817 hp and 1,193 lb-ft on tap.
With Michael Jordan’s Venom F5 clearly mixing an open top with the kind of aero present on the said track spec, the Venom F5 Revolution Roadster was born. In fact, John Hennessey said it was “an honor to build a special F5 for a special friend,” Oh, and we’ll tip our helmets to Hennessey Director of Dealer Relations Blake Ellis Crockett for the photo of the vehicle with the cover on.
And since Michael Jordan is 6’6″ (198 cm) tall, that Roadster approach certainly means he has no headroom concerns. Will the VIP ever be seen hooning the 8,500 rpm-capable machine with the top on? The weather seems to be against answering this question, but we’re curious anyway.
The Venom F5 Revolution is priced at $2.7 million—that’s for the 24 units of the Coupe, so it wouldn’t surprise us to see the Venom F5 Revolution Roadster passing the $3 million mark. Exclusivity plays an important role here, even though it would be difficult to believe we’re dealing with a one-off.
How Michael Jordan chooses the cars in his collection
Over the years, Jordan’s cars have always been in the stratosphere of factory options rather than using tuner touches like those of, say, Shaquille O’Neal. One caveat is that it all makes it easier for the vehicles to change hands, so the star’s garage can stay fresh. Of course, moves like dealer resprays as the one MJ had on this now-modern-classic Range Rover he used to own were always in his game.
The Venom F5 isn’t Michael Jordan’s first hypercar—that title belongs to his Bugatti Veyron Sang Noir—but it’s certainly the fastest machine he’s owned to date.
