Former American Idol judge and Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler is no stranger to fast times.  His lust for life extends to the road where he’ll now be able to feel the wind in his lips at 275mph.  He recently purchased one of only five Hennessey Venom GTs produced last year for a cool $1.1 million.  Before anyone questions what good could possibly come from Steven Tyler driving at close to 300mph, it should be noted that he uses his new toy to grab headlines for charity. 

Tyler caused a scene by driving the Venom to a benefit for the Stuart House in Los Angeles this month with band-mate Joe Perry.  Touted as the fastest car in the world, the Venom became a focal point of the event unto itself. 

Aside from using the Venom’s badass-ness for a noble appearance, Tyler deserves a special pat on the back for being the first person to request a topless model of the super-machine, which in effect inspired Hennessey to milk even more power from its 7.0-liter, twin turbo V8.

"Steven came to us last year and asked if we could build his Venom GT as a roadster," said John Hennessey. "We had to make a few structural changes to our integrated rollcage in order to be able to fit the removable top. This increased the weight of our vehicle by about 30 lbs to a curb weight of 2743 lbs (1244 kilograms). We decided to increase the Venom GTs power to 1244 bhp to maintain our 1 horsepower per 1 kilogram power to weight ratio."

Well done, sir.  When Steven Tyler puts his foot down his Venom GT will rocket him to 60mph in 2.5 seconds and 200mph in 15.9 seconds.  Eventually he’ll reach a maximum speed of 275mph, possibly while Joe Perry shreds on the solo from “Sweet Emotion” in the passenger seat.

If there’s a more rock and roll way to arrive at a charity event I’d like to see it.  

Take a tour of the Hennessey factory and go for a ride in the Venom GT here.  

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