Who makes the fastest car in the world? That is a subject to some debate. The Germans at the head of Bugatti claim that one variation or another of the Veyron ubercar is the fastest…but John Hennessey begs to differ, and has the ride to back it up. His company, Hennessey Performance Engineering, is behind the Venom GT, a lightweight Lotus-based racer with a 1,244 horsepower twin-turbo V8.

The combination of the lightweight Lotus chassis and big horsepower provides some absolutely insane acceleration. Don’t take our word for it though; Hennessey posted this video to YouTube of the Venom GT blasting off from 0 to 230 mph in just 20 seconds. Can you beat that, Bugatti?

Seriously, after seeing the Venom GT in action, we’re beginning to seriously doubt that the Bugatti could keep up. The 7.0 liter LS-based engine in the Venom GT produces just as much power as the Bugatti’s W16 quad-turbo engine, and doesn’t require three radiators and heat-exchangers to stay cool.

Amazingly, the Venom GT takes just 13.48 seconds to reach 300 kph, or about 186 mph, and just another 6 seconds to hit 230 mph. For what it’s worth, Wikipedia says that the Bugatti takes 14.6 seconds to reach 300 kph, and a full 55 seconds to reach 248 mph, while the Venom GT makes it to 230 mph in 19.96 seconds.

Wow. Really, just…wow.

All that’s left to do is get these two 1,200 horsepower missiles on the same long stretch of road at the same time and see who really is the quickest and fastest car on Earth.