Steven Tyler buys fastest street-legal car

Hennessey Performance

The Hennessey Venom GT Spyder, custom-built as a convertible for rocker Steven Tyler.

By Courtney Garcia

Steven Tyler clearly prefers life in the fast lane. The ?American Idol? judge and Aerosmith frontman added to his rewarding year by buying the world?s fastest street-legal?car, a $1.1 million hand-built convertible known as The Hennessey Venom GT Spyder.

One of only five 2013 models to be?made, Tyler?s is the sole convertible of the batch, and is able to accelerate to 200 mph in 15.9 seconds. The musician came to the car?s makers with specific drop-top and motor requests, and accordingly, the car was custom-made based on the standard Venom GT prototype.

?We had to make a few structural changes to our integrated rollcage in order to be able to fit the removable top,? John Hennessey, the car?s creator and owner?of Hennessey Performance Engineering,?told Yahoo! Autos.?This increased the weight of our vehicle by about 30 pounds to a curb weight of 2743 pounds (1244 kilograms). We decided to increase the Venom GT's power to 1244 bhp to maintain our 1 horsepower per 1 kilogram power to weight ratio."

Tyler?s sleek and angled two-door black roadster can accelerate faster than any other vehicle, maxing out at 275 mph and beating Bugatti?s Veyron by 8 mph.

Basic versions cost $950,000, but the rock star?s rendition crossed the million dollar mark due to his removable hardtop roof. Additionally, the car had to be reformed to meet his request for a 7.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 engine.

Hennessey Performance

Another angle of the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder, which reportedly maxes out at 275 mph.

Tyler?s new toy adds to a prosperous year for the musician. He?just completed his duties serving as judge on the eleventh season of ?American Idol,? and now prepares to go on the road with Aerosmith for their summer ?Global Warming Tour.?

The tour kicks off in Minneapolis on June 16.

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