On January 10, 2013, a Hennessey Venom GT pulled up to a makeshift starting line at Ellington Airport outside of Houston, TX, and rocketed from 0-300 km/h in 13.63 seconds. It was a scorching run, and landed the Hennessey Venom GT onto the top spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. This March, during a set-up run at the TX2K15, that record fell. Hard.
“9.41 seconds,” says Tym Switzer, reading the numbers off the GPS data-logger installed in the Switzer Goliath GTR. “That’s with a 1 foot roll-out on the DOT tires, but they’re all in the 9s. Here’s a 9.68. Almost every 0-300 run we recorded this weekend was under 10 seconds, which beats the official record by miles,” he adds. “And we weren’t even trying.”
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That’s the beauty of a car like Switzer’s Goliath. Based on the Nissan R35 GTR, the crew at Oberlin, Ohio-based Switzer Performance transform the already capable supercar with an upgraded suspension, enhanced brake system, and larger, ball-bearing turbochargers as well a thoroughly re-engineered, Switzer-built transmission and drivetrain. The crown jewel of the Goliath conversion, however, is the Switzer-massaged VR38TT engine under the hood that- in TX2K trim- was putting out more than 1700 AWHP.
That 1700 WHP (more than 2000 at the crank) Switzer engine meant that, despite the Goliath’s nearly two-ton mass, beating the Hennessey Venom GT’s 0-300 record run was never going to be much of a challenge. Switzer, however, downplays the achievement. “We didn’t build this car to set records,” explains Switzer. “That’s never been the focus of any of our cars- even the Goliath, which set standing-mile speed records almost two years ago that still stand. Instead, we built these cars so our customers could have a certain kind of experience. They want an extreme experience at the track, sure- and we’ve given them that- but they want the opposite of an extreme experience on the street. They want a car they can take to dinner or drive to work in. We call that a ‘drive-thru capable’ car, and delivering a car that can run with these record-setting cars and still be docile and useful is something that’s a lot easier to say than do.”
Switzer’s Goliath “X” (for “experimental”, because it was one of the first road-going Goliath conversions to feature Switzer’s ethanol-capable fuel system) supported its builders’ statements of drive-thru worthiness throughout last month’s TX2K event. The car’s owners drove it around the streets of Texas all week, putting hundreds of trouble-free road miles on the car in between the grueling rounds of high-temperature, half-mile racing- and the car performed like a champion, running neck-and-neck against cut-down track specialists and “trailer queens” with the AC on and the stereo blasting.
“It couldn’t have gone better for Efi (the car’s owner),” says Switzer, of the car’s performance in Texas. “He had a great time, and really seemed to enjoy the experience we were able to deliver. Ultimately, that’s really what we’re here for- so he can have that great experience and be able to share it with his friends and family.”
And, as much as setting the official 0-300 km record wasn’t Switzer’s goal with the Goliath, that hasn’t stopped other Goliath owners from talking about making it official. “That’s the next step, I think,” says Tym. “We’ll eventually reach out to the Guinness people and set up a time and a place and make it official. Until then, we’re going to focus on delivering the customer cars that have already been ordered and supporting our clients at events like the TX2K and wannagoFAST.”
For more information on Switzer Performance and the Switzer Goliath conversion for the R35 Nissan GTR, contact Switzer Performance. To send comments regarding the “production status” of Switzer’s Goliath conversion vs. the Venom GT, consider that Switzer has built over a dozen of its GTR-based Goliath hypercars, then click here to email Neil Switzer.