godzilla v. mecha-lambo

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IT IS PRONOUNCED GHEY-ARE-DOE

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Earlier this week, a few enthusiasts rented out South Florida's excellent PBIR to run a few friendly "grudge match" drag races. Among the attendees were one crisp, white Switzer R900 GTR and one screaming yellow, twin-turbo Gallardo.

Let me give you a quick rundown of the video: the cars line up, the lights turn green, and they go.

If you've been following the exploits of the Switzer-tuned GTR Nissans over the last few years, you already know who wins.

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.

godzilla and the angry inch ccr

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Autoblog has been sending some big love Switzer's way this week, with not one but two big posts about the latest Tymme turbo terrors.

First, Switzer's latest R911S GT2 was released, with a power-to-weight ratio that simply "eviscerates" Porsche latest GT2 RS. You can check out Autoblog's post (with photo gallery) and the original Switzer release if you like, but the short story is this: substantially more GO.

A few days later, Autoblog posted the following video from Switzer's Swedish dealer Advan Performance, who ran their P800 GTR Nissan shop car against an equally powerful Koenigsegg CCR which had been effectively dispatching all challengers before lining up to the Advan car.

What happened next?

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GODZILLA IS UNBEATABLE FROM A DIG

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As you can see, the CCR had little hope of catching the GTR from a 30 mph roll, and only a roll from about 60 overcame the Nissan's magic traction advantages. It seems that, from a stop, the GTR is a class or two ahead of the Koenigsegg CCR ... which puts it in some pretty rare company.

Coming up: more Switzer v. Bugatti action. Stay tuned!

following godzilla

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YOU CAN COME ALONG - BUT STAY BEHIND ME

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Forgive the poetic slant to this week's prose, but it all sort of struck me at once: The spring. The breeze. The sunset. All of that caught up to me last week, as I followed Godzilla to Columbus, Ohio.

I was piloting Jo's portly white Volkswagen Routan behind a very special car. A supercar if ever I saw one. A foreign devil, with a decidedly America twist. A Switzer-modified R35 GTR Nissan, ripping along the highway at full song.

Dubbed "Godzilla" by the foreign press, this particular example of R35 was angry and loaded up on power. I followed its taillight signature like a meddling kid after a mystery, mesmerized by its speed and the setting sun across its "super-silver" flanks.

The GTR blipped and barked now and then, passing lesser cars (and they are all lesser cars) effortlessly with a faint puff of smoke and a malevolent whine from the turbos. The car rushed ahead like it beheld some secret to happiness, and I was left behind in its wake - left alone in the quiet VW to notice the full-blown greenness of Spring that I'd forgotten after all of these months of Ohio winter.

The van hustled to keep up, whipping past rust-colored barns, a yellow horse statue (!?), and a sign that said "hidden drives". Even as far back as I was, I barely missed the fact that my radio wasn't on. It was enough to listen to the hum coming from the GTR and hear the swoosh of the blurred road.

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LIKE THAT

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I laughed at the sight of the GTR passing a Mennonite horse. The horse turned its head to watch the car's passing with a sort of inter-species "right on, brutha!" nod.

The car reached its new home after two too brief hours, and nestled into its new garage home alongside another supercar if I ever saw one. Its owner beaming like a little kid. I knew what he looked like at five years old on Christmas morning, I think. With a car like that in the stable, I think I'd look the same.

switzer does dallas goliad

SWITZER P800 GTR NISSAN TAKES ON TEXAS

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191 mph on 93 octane! Wow!!

After winning the GTR class at the TX2K10 shootout, our hot-shoe driver Jason pushed his Boulder Nissan | Switzer P800 GTR to more than 191 mph at last weekend's Texas Mile!

Keep in mind, Jason and his tech Eric built this car with an out-of-the-box P800 kit from Switzer Performance, with Switzer's “canned” roadrace calibrations and tuned to 93 octane … and the car ran STRONG at two grueling back-to-back weekend events, proving that Eric can wrench as well as Jason can drive, for sure!

Congratulations to the Boulder Nissan crew – you made us all look great, and it seems like you had fun doing it, too. We can't wait to hear about your next adventure with Godzilla!

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Photo courtesy of Adam Barerra.

switzer does dallas

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BOULDER NISSAN SPONSORED P800 TAKES 1ST OVERALL AT TX2K10

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Last weekend's shootout in Texas turned out to be a great event, with one GTR clocking an utterly blistering 9.89 second pass!

It was Jason's Boulder Nissan-sponsored Switzer P800 GTR Nissan, however, that took home gold in the GTR class, dominating the road-course competition, and powering through a number of 10.5 second 1/4 mile passes at over 138 mph.

You can see dozens of pictures of the event at this link. Enjoy!

i love kuwait

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According to the OP, this video shows one of Switzer's P800 GTR Nissans running an "825" Vivid Racing Porsche on the streets of Kuwait ... and it is Killer.

Turn your speakers way, Way, WAY up for this one, kiddies - the real fun starts about :20 in. GO, Basel!

sunshine theme week | godzilla ii | 'zilla v. busa

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The boys in Russia are running wild, street-racing a Switzer P800 GTR Nissan against a Suzuki Hayabusa - one of the fastest street bikes money can buy! It's a bit of a wash at the start, where the AWD Nissan has a clear advantage, but from 60 mph on it's a dead heat, and the car walks the bike above 170 mph.

My favorite part? When the camera pans over the speedo at more than 200 mph!

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Great stuff - we're so proud of these guys and grateful to the Dragtimes video crew for taking this great footage week after week!

Source: Switzer Performance News

sunshine theme week | godzilla ii | tweakzilla

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This year's Tokyo Auto Show is in full swing, and in between announcements for new fun sporty coupes and monstrously-styled supercars from Toyota, Autoblog is reporting that Nissan has tweaked its resident monster for a smoother ride and better low-end torque.

Welcome to R35.1.

CLICK HERE for the original post.

even godzilla gets the blues | part ii

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I first stumbled across Terrence's BlueR35 blog back in May, and immediately fell for his Bay Blue Nissan.

Now, the car is done, and more professional-looking pictures are turning up on the site every day. I've included some of my favorites here, but invite you to click through to the site to see them all.

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Looks good to me!

The car's owners are currently looking for sponsors to help with some of the build costs, but even as it sits, the car is beautiful. Congrats, guys! I'm super jealous.

to russia with love | part iii

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In our last installment, one of our Moscow customers put his Switzer P800 GTR Nissan to the test against one an awesomely powerful LPE ZR1 Corvette. The two titans screamed from 0-200+ neck-and-neck in round 1, with the Switzer car pulling away HARD in round 2.

Fun for the whole family!

Today's installment pits the P800 against its greatest nemesis: the clock!

Enjoy!

to russia with love | part ii

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Remember that sikk 2010 GTR we sent over to Moscow a few weeks back?

Here it is again, running against an awesomely powerful (and much lighter!) Lingenfelter Corvette ZR1, courtesy of dragtimes.info.

Enjoy!

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In case you didn't catch the title - this is some sort of "revanche" race (revenge?), caught on film by the guys at dragtimes. Even without the bitchin' Russian techno, this is still kickass to the right!

Thanks for the video link, Mike!

friday fun day - the thank you edition

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Recently, I had the opportunity to take two of Switzer's most powerful automobiles out to the storied Nelson Ledges roadcourse in Warren, OH. Thanks to track manager Scott Lane, I was allowed to bring along photographer Dustin Woods, auto-journo Cherise LaPine, and - of course - the Great Jack Baruth, who pushed the 800 hp GT2 Porsche to speeds that would have put him, if not on the pole of the last SCCA ITE race held there, then very near the front row.

That's quite a feat, when you consider the Tymme-tuned GT2 was on street Michelins and Jack was taking the car's owner, David Kim, along for the ride, as well!

If you're into it, you can read more about Jack's impressions of the GT2 on Speed:Sport:Life. I can't do his (or LaPine's!) review of the day any sort of justice here.

I haven't said anything about Dustin's thoughts on the day, since - quite simply - I haven't read them, yet! I have, however, seen a few Great teaser pics he took of the cars on-track (above and below) and I can't wait to see the ones he'll actually be using in his review!

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Once Dustin's article hits print, you can bet I'll link to it here - until then, I just want to offer my sincerest thanks to Cherise (who put in a heroic all-night drive to be a part of our little Nelson Ledges Friday Fun Day), Jack (who has proven time and again to be the best go-to guy in Ohio), and - of course! - Dustin himself, who drove out from Toronto TWICE to be a part of this. Thanks, as well, to JR and David, who trusted us with a few hundred g's worth of high-end automotive machinery.

Really, too many "thank yous" to go around, and I'm sure I'm forgetting people. All I can say is that I really had a blast. You guys are the best!

to russia with love | part i

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My longtime reader will remember my friends in Russia - the escaped mental patients who regularly see 200 mph on relatively public Russian freeways. In this latest installment of Crazy + Russia = Switzer Performance, we bring you something of an exclusive ...

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Fun, fun, fun, for sure!

Unlike most customer cars, we were able to dyno and road-test this particular GTR bone-stock, and generated a yawn-inducing 11.8 sec 60-130 mph run. Once tuned, that time dropped to 6.8 seconds.

BIG difference!

Enjoy the video (stock v. tuned, above), and remember to turn the speakers down before hitting "play" ... Godzilla has a mean roar!

carf*ckers

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As many of you know, I put a lot of hours into this business. When I am at work I tend to work, and when I am at home I tend to work. When I am at bookstores I read car mags. When I am in bars I talk to the guy next to me about what he drives. When I sleep, I dream of galloping elephants.

In short: I am obsessed.

The guys I work with are obsessed, too.

We are obsessive people. This is why we get along.

All the same, every once in a while we simply ask too much of ourselves, and run out of hours in a day. On those occasions, we make customers wait. We apologize and plead for patience, sacrificing animals to the supply gods, the shipping gods, and the coffee gods alike, each time praying that the next moment will bring us whatever part, bolt, screw, or "Boojie" that is missing to complete the task at hand.

Or maybe, that's just what we WANT you to think - and we're really just rubbing up on sexy, sexy cars while you're not looking!

Ha! Ha-ha! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

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That was a classic bit from The Kids in the Hall!

Hope you enjoyed it.

switzer welcomes | dyno-comp

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As the guy holding down the big (only?) office at Switzer Performance, it is my very great pleasure to announce that my good friends at Dyno-Comp are officially Switzer's new PREFERRED INSTALLER for Arizona.

Located in Scottsdale, Dyno-Comp is the premier destination for luxury and or sports car enthusiasts in the southwest, offering a distinguished line of automobile accessories and high-performance components for European and Asian-import vehicles.

In addition to Switzer Performance PKGs for Porsche turbo and Nissan GTR, Dyno-Comp carries superchargers, brakes, turbochargers, performance engine software, suspension, aerodynamics, and wheel and tire packages for a number of high-end makes and models - and ALL Dyno-comp installs are proven on their state-of-the-art, AWD dyno.

I've worked with Ken Rudy and Shane McKinnon at Dyno-Comp for a number of years now, and they are truly great guys. I couldn't be happier or prouder to be working with them in an official capacity again.

CLICK HERE to read the announcement on Dyno-Comp's own blog, and email Ken for final product pricing and availability.

even godzilla gets the blues

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This would have been SO PERFECT for Godzilla theme week - ARGH!

This R35 - painted in the same gorgeous R34 blue that made the that car a Gran Turismo favorite - is so splediffic and sectacutastic, in fact, that I may just make every week Godzilla theme week!

Of course, if I did that, I'd be the GTR Blog, and there's already that (Hi, Kris!).

CLICK HERE for more pics of this blue R35 coming together.

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Via NAGTROC.

freedom autosport | switzer gtr v. 2009 lapdogs

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On May 1st, Derek Whitis' Freedom Autosport team – featuring veteran Grand Am Rolex driver Tom Long – will set out from their Florida home with just one goal in mind: to bring home the 2009 TireRack Cannonball One Lap of America (presented by Motor Trend) winner's trophy.

For 2009, Freedom Autosport will be campaigning a heavily modified Nissan R35 GTR, which has been tuned by Tym Switzer's Ohio-based tuning house to deliver more than 700 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque to the Nissan's tires - on 93 octane pump gas! In Whitis' own words, "the GTR is a phenomenal car in stock form, but the guys at Switzer were able to turn a 500 lb gorilla into a 1000 lb King Kong in a way that makes this car faster, more linear, and easier to drive than anything I've ever experienced."

Tom Long seconds Whitis' initial impressions, adding that “the capability Switzer added to our GTR is incredible. They took a well engineered car, with world-class performance, and stepped it up to the next level. The smooth power delivery provided by a linear torque curve enables me to apply throttle all the way through the corner with absolute control ... amazing!”

That added power – from Nissan's stock 480 hp to over 800 at the crank – comes courtesy of Switzer's P800 performance package that adds upgraded turbochargers, custom intake assemblies, 900cc injectors, a pair of Switzer's MONSTER intercoolers, and Switzer's custom software calibration, and exits through a unique Freedom Autosport-developed lightweight exhaust system.

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All that added power is only one aspect of Freedom Autosport's total package, however. The signal-green GTR makes extensive use MIT-developed of active-aero components from AeroMotions, as well lightweight carbon body panels from Password:JDM, while components from Performance Friction & Motorsport Brake Specialists, Stillen, GT-RR.com, Forged Performance, Kraft Nissan of Tallahassee, NAGTROC, WillAll Racing, and JRZ Suspension help the car stop better and turn nearly as hard as it accelerates.

“We're really looking forward to running the OneLap this year,” explains Whitis"Our team name and charity, the Wounded Support Fund, is all about giving a little thanks to the men and women who've been protecting us for the last 230 years. Freedom Autosport runs the US Marine Corps. insignia on all its cars in honor of my brother-in-law, Major Tim Anderson, but also in honor of all the soldiers who are out there risking their lives so we can be free to run events like these at home. We have veterans on our team, there are veterans on our sponsors' payroll, and there are veterans to be counted among the seasoned Lap Dogs we'll be running with this year.”

The 2009 running of the TireRack Cannonball OneLap of America (presented by Motor Trend) kicks off May 1st at TireRack headquarters in South Bend, Indiana and wraps up 8 days and 3200 mile later, again in South Bend. Will the Freedom Autosport/Switzer GTR have what it takes to bring home the gold?

We'll find out soon enough.

sam mitani v. nissan launch control

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Road & Track editor Sam Mitani puts it exactly right when he talks about Nissan's launch control function earning the R35 GTR a lot of "funny press".

In this video, Mitani test drives one of the latest 2010 models in Japan, and gets some solid sit-down time with some key members of the GTR's development team. Sam asks a few tough questions, but falls just short of calling out Nissan for not standing behind their halo car in the service drive.

Still, always nice to see Godzilla rip off a few 3-second 0-60 sprints, no?

the beaver says 6 more weeks of winter

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Last week, on the drive home from seeing Hobbes and Yuly in Chicago, I was caught in my very first honest-to-goodness crazy snowfall somewhere near Notagaoddamnthing, Indiana. The mighty Routan and I pushed through the weather, barely in time to meet up with Andy and Kyle and deliver them to Beaverun Motorsports Park, where they would be driving Tym Switzer's latest.

After a few dozen "beaver" jokes (Ha! Beaver!), it was time to get down to business and drive the Cars.

Just then: snow. The stuff had followed me all the way from Lake Forest, IL and would not quit - but, did that stop the Jalopniks from storming down the front straight like a million-pound shithammer?

No. No, it did not.

Hats off to JR (aka "JTR") for being such a good sport and letting us drive his P800 in such rotten luck weather. Nerves of Steel, that one.

In the end, we had a good time hanging out with those guys, and don't want to take any more away from them (even if they won't let me drown them in a Fiesta), so click on one of the pics, or just CLICK HERE for the original article and hi-res photo gallery.

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NOTE:

There were other cars at "the Beave" that day - oh, yes! You'll have to wait until May to find out what it were.

Also, I pilfered the latest Sunshine banner (above) from Andy's EXCELLENT in-car photo gallery. Great shots, man. Really.