corn-fed godzilla

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NOW AVAILABLE IN STORMTROOPER WHITE AND CORNHUSKER YELLOW

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When Nissan introduced the latest R35 version of its GTR in 2008, the international press was quick to nickname the car “Godzilla” - as much for the car’s size as for its fire-breathing performance - and Nissan was equally quick to call the car both “perfect” and “untunable”. That “perfect” label is a matter of opinion, of course, but enough GTR buyers felt the car lacked sufficient oomph that a number of tuning firms began to lay waste to the idea of an “untunable” car, building massively-powerful GTR Nissans along the way. One such firm is Tym Switzer’s Ohio-based Switzer Performance, and their massively-powerful GTR is called the P800 - a comprehensively tuned 800 hp track-weapon that’s as much at home on Main Street as it is on the back straight.

Of course, there are some enthusiasts who will always want more - and when one of these enthusiasts contacted Switzer about pushing the P800 GTR to the limit, the crew at Switzer Performance got to work developing the car you see here.

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SEEMS ZIPPY ENOUGH

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“The P800 is already at the limit of what we feel comfortable for the stock GTR transmission,” explains Switzer. “So to go further we really needed to beef up the transmission. We contacted Dodson Motorsports in New Zealand and explained what our goals were with the car - 900 hp, more clutch area, ad smooth shifting at every speed. The new transmission is the product of several months’ co-development between Switzer and Dodson, and is exactly what we needed in order to start pushing the GTR forward beyond 800 hp.”

The next thing Switzer needed to address to keep “pushing the GTR forward” was fuel. “We didn’t want to just deliver a race-gas package that tethered the client to a fuel drum in his garage, but we wanted to be able to turn up the boost, also.” The solution? Readily-available E85.

“In a way, the solution was all around us,” offers Switzer, whose shop is located deep in Ohio’s farm country, surrounded - literally! - by cornfields. “E85 isn’t without its trade-offs. We had to modify the fuel system to handle the fuel and significantly increase the size of the injectors, also, but in the end we had a fuel that gave us everything we needed to crank up the boost on this car and deliver over 900 hp.” The E85 delivered other benefits as well: it is significantly “greener” than the pump-gas and race-gas versions of the GTR. “With most high-horsepower cars, you can barely breathe after just a few dyno runs. With the E85, we were able to run pull after pull to dial in the tune without feeling any effects of the usual emissions. It’s hardly scientific, but there was a noticeable improvement in the air quality in the shop compared to race gas.”

The final product - dubbed the E900 for “Ethanol fuel, 900 hp” - is a fast, capable package that offers linear power delivery and massive midrange torque with superior transient response compared to larger-turbo/race-fuel combinations, while maintaining a bit of environmental responsibility along with its blistering sub-6-second 60-130 mph acceleration.

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GREEN AND MEAN

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This first E900 also sports an Amuse carbon fiber aero package, 3-way adjustable suspension, and 20” BBS wheels that are an inch wider than stock at all four corners. Switzer’s new E85-fueled E900 PKG is available now. Contact Switzer Performance for more.

hp war really really really not over

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Earlier this week, AMG boss Volker Mornhinweg announced that “the horsepower war is over." If this sounds familiar, it's because AMG issued a similar press release LAST JANUARY.

"Last year, it was a coincidence that we were releasing a new, 695 hp performance package for the 65 series AMG cars at around the same time. We sent out a press release that said 'HP War Not Over'," recalls Hartmut Feyhl, president of RENNTECH and four-star General of the horsepower wars. "This year it is the same timing again, and we have something much more extreme to announce for our 20th Anniversary."

Feyhl founded RENNTECH in 1989, and the company has since established itself as one of the world's premier tuning firms and the foremost authority on Mercedes-Benz performance tuning. 2009 marks the company's 20th year in business, and the company intends to celebrate by releasing a small number of extreme, limited edition performance vehicles, beginning with the 777 hp, RENNTECH 777 shown here.

"This 777 concept is really an all-new car that makes use of the advanced carbon fiber chassis of the SLR McLaren. It can be described as a street-legal track car, or something closer to what the enthusiasts were hoping for from the SLR, originally - which is more a successor to the McLaren F1."

RENNTECH heavily revised the SLR McLaren bodywork and aero package using some of the same technology the company used to develop the the GLK Hybrid Rally Racer for Mercedes-Benz, including advanced CFD software to develop the aerodynamics for improved downforce. Even with the big wing, splitters, and skirts, a top speed in excess of 210 mph is well within reach for the 777.

The 777 is much more than lightweight bodywork, however. The 5.5 L supercharged "Kompressor" v8 engine is heavily revised, with internal and external performance upgrades and a significantly upgraded cooling system.

Getting that power to the ground is the job of a fully redesigned suspension and driveline, with a heavily reinforced transmission sending power to RENNTECH's revolutionary new limited-slip differential. Built for RENNTECH by Japanese supplier OS Giken, the recently-released differential allows for 100% locking between the drive wheels for unsurpassed mid-corner traction. Aggressive Nitto NT-05 ultra-high performance tires wrapped around extremely lightweight, 1 pc. center-locking wheels round out the street -legal handling package.

"The 777 will be a very special car," explains Hartmut. "The first example is being built now, and will be ready this Spring. We intend to build a few different extreme vehicles like this for our 20th anniversary, with each one being strictly limited to 20 units. They are all very exciting projects, and we will be announcing them throughout the year, as they approach completion."

Contact RENNTECH for information and RENNTECH 777 SLR McLaren package pricing.

switzer sledgehammer

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In the classic Simpsons episode "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?", Homer demands a car that is "powerful, like a gorilla", and insists that when he start the engine, children cry and women think the world is coming to an end.

It may not look like the Homer, but Tym Switzer's awe-inspiring 997 Turbo Sledgehammer is every bit an awesome, power-mad silverback in a sea of chimp-tuned Porsches.

I've written about Tym before (HERE), but this is the first time I've been able to post one of Switzer Performance Innovation's official press releases (below).

Enjoy!

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Oberlin, OH - Switzer Announces SLEDGEHAMMER 1000 hp Porsche Conversion Package

Tym Switzer has been quietly running Switzer Performance Innovations (SPI) in Oberlin, Ohio for several years, building show-quality exhausts and bolt-on performance products for twin-turbo Porsche 996 and 997 models.

With his latest project, Tym and the crew at SPI wanted to test the limits of what would be possible with stock 997 internals. “When the customer first came to me with his 997, we talked a lot about about pushing the limits the new engine and what might be possible using stock internals. I had already been inside the 997 turbo engines, and felt that 700 wheel horsepower seemed well within reach on pump fuel, and that we might be able to go a bit further.”

That “bit further” eventually led to what Switzer calls the SLEDGEHAMMER. Named after candid comment from an SPI tech, the SLEDGEHAMMER is a bolt-on performance package for 997 twin-turbo Porsches that delivers over 850 all-wheel horsepower on race fuel. That's over 1000 hp at the crank!

Getting Bugatti-baiting performance figures from a bolt-on prepared 997 is no easy task, though. Switzer explains he and his crew “have always prided ourselves on attention to detail and delivering exactly what we promise to our customers. We have a saying around here: performance, not excuses. So during the original SLEDGEHAMMER build we looked at every part of the system, constantly metering and testing every component, on our in-house chassis dyno.”

A finished Switzer SLEDGEHAMMER is certainly an amazing car. Switzer reports that (despite backing off the throttle early) the first SLEDGEHAMMER went almost 195 mph at the Texas mile. Additional performance figures read like the stuff of legend: consistent 0-60 times in the mid 2's, less than 5 seconds to go from 60-130 mph, and 9.8-second quarter mile elapsed times with trap speeds regularly in excess of 145 mph. “With performance like that, these cars really speak for themselves - I have another one on the dyno now, and expect to post the results of those runs shortly.”

In addition to extensive ECU tuning, the SLEDGEHAMMER package includes SPI's in-house developed headers and sport exhaust, as well as SPI's MONSTER intercooler package and SPI-massaged GT30R turbos. More details on Switzer's SLEDGEHAMMER conversion can be found on SPI's website. The SLEDGEHAMMER package retails for 49990USD, and is available through SPI.

Contact SPI for more information.