Hennessey’s Maverick Division: Where “Bespoke” Gets Bonkers
When you’re dropping seven figures on a hypercar, the standard options list can feel a bit… pedestrian. For tuning houses like Hennessey, “bespoke” doesn’t just mean picking a fancier shade of paint or stitching your initials into the headrest. It means bending the very fabric of automotive possibility to accommodate some truly outlandish customer demands.
We’re talking about gold that isn’t just plated, but is actual, functional gold. We’re talking about built-in cigar lounges. And yes, we’re even talking about custom holsters for your favorite vintage firearm. Hennessey’s Maverick division is apparently the place where “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” takes on a whole new, and frankly bizarre, meaning.
The Gilded Cage: When Gold Replaces Metal
Imagine this: you’ve just commissioned a Venom F5, a 1,817-horsepower beast designed to shatter speed records. What’s missing? For one particularly ambitious client in Mexico, the answer was simple: more gold. Not just a few gold accents, mind you, but actual, solid gold where metal components should be.
Hennessey’s Director of Design, Nathan Malinick, recounted the tale with a mix of amusement and exhaustion. “We won’t do this again because it was so complicated,” he admitted, detailing how one customer insisted on gold for elements like the engine cover vents. The problem? Gold, as it turns out, is softer than a politician’s promise.
Malinick elaborated, “If you go to clean a real piece of gold, bad things happen.” While the customer’s car reportedly hasn’t suffered any gold-related catastrophes, Hennessey has wisely drawn a line in the gilded sand. This particular request was a one-off, a testament to extreme customization that proved too impractical even for the kings of extreme tuning.
Michael Jordan’s Cigar Stash: A Humidor for the Humidor King
While gold might be too soft, cigars are clearly made of sterner stuff. For Michael Jordan, the basketball legend and renowned cigar aficionado, Hennessey crafted a Venom F5 that was less about raw speed and more about sophisticated leisure. The pièce de résistance? A custom-built humidor integrated directly into the glovebox.
This wasn’t a request directly from MJ, according to Malinick. Instead, it was the Hennessey design team deciding to “really wanted to go over the top” for this particular build, leaning into Jordan’s known passion. It’s a subtle nod, perhaps, but one that speaks volumes about the owner’s lifestyle.
The idea of a hypercar with a built-in cigar humidor is, frankly, absurd. But in the rarefied air of Hennessey’s clientele, it’s precisely the kind of personalized touch that makes a multi-million dollar machine feel truly unique. It’s a rolling testament to the fact that sometimes, the most impressive features aren’t measured in horsepower.
Texas Roots: Holsters for the Heritage Colt
Hennessey’s home turf is Texas, a state with a rich, and often fiery, history. It’s no surprise, then, that some customers look to incorporate elements of that heritage into their bespoke vehicles. For one client, this meant a custom holster, fitted with millimeter-perfect precision, for a vintage Colt 1911 pistol.
Malinick confirmed the holster was designed to snugly house the customer’s prized firearm, blending security with the unmistakable Hennessey flair. It’s a stark reminder that for some, a hypercar isn’t just about going fast; it’s about carrying your personal statement, quite literally, wherever you go.
The company even offers keys shaped like guns, further cementing this unique intersection of automotive excess and Texan tradition. While not every buyer will opt for such specialized storage, it highlights Hennessey’s willingness to cater to a very specific, and very American, definition of luxury and personalization.
The Maverick Division: Pushing the Boundaries of “Personalized”
These extravagant requests—the gold, the humidor, the gun holster—all fall under Hennessey’s Maverick division. This is where the company takes its already extreme creations and dials the personalization up to eleven, often exceeding the wildest dreams (or perhaps nightmares) of conventional automotive design.
The underlying message is clear: if you have the budget and the imagination, Hennessey’s Maverick team will likely find a way to make it happen. It’s a business model built on the premise that for the ultra-wealthy, exclusivity isn’t just about rarity; it’s about having something no one else on the planet possesses, down to the smallest, most ridiculous detail.
While the gold might be a hard pass for future projects, the principle remains. Hennessey is selling more than just speed; they’re selling the ultimate expression of individual desire, wrapped in a package capable of warping spacetime.
Motor1’s Take: The Price of Peculiarity
It’s hardly surprising that Hennessey customers, those who can afford to drop millions on a vehicle, seek to imbue their machines with unparalleled personalization. The gold vents, the integrated humidor for Michael Jordan, and the custom firearm holsters are merely extreme examples of a broader trend.
For the discerning buyer with bottomless pockets, a standard hypercar is merely a canvas. The Maverick division offers the brushes, the paints, and the sheer audacity to create something truly singular. While Hennessey might draw the line at soft metals, their commitment to fulfilling the most outlandish wishes continues to define their niche in the automotive world.
- Gold Vents: A one-off request for solid gold engine cover vents, deemed too impractical due to the metal’s softness.
- Michael Jordan’s Humidor: A custom-built cigar humidor integrated into the glovebox of a Venom F5 for the basketball legend.
- Firearm Storage: A precisely fitted holster for a vintage Colt 1911 pistol, reflecting Texan heritage.
- Maverick Division: Hennessey’s bespoke arm, dedicated to fulfilling extreme and unique customer customization requests.
- Key Shapes: Hennessey also offers custom keys, including those shaped like firearms.
- Future Customization: While gold is out, Hennessey remains open to other highly personalized, albeit practical, modifications.
