Houstonian turns love for fast cars into $4 million-a-year firm | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Houstonian turns love for fast cars into $4 million-a-year firm Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:

"Everything changed in 1993 for John Hennessey when he got his hands on a newly minted Dodge Viper.
The Houstonian had already earned a bit of fame for setting a speed record years earlier in a Mitsubishi 3000 GT he customized in his spare time.
But it was the Viper that helped him turn a hobby of customizing and souping up cars into a $4 million-a-year business.
Hennessey, who worked in construction and modified other people's cars out of a 3,000-square-foot shop in the Heights, beefed the Viper's horsepower up to 500 from 400, which caught the eye of Car and Driver magazine. Once the article appeared, his reputation soared."