FIRST R35 INTO THE SIXES

It’s been one of the most hotly contested battles in import drag racing in the past few years, with a small handful of R35s gunning to crack the six-second barrier. Finally, we have a name to pen in the record books. Gidi Chamdi is no stranger to R35s or to owning the world record with his original AMS-built Alpha 20, but, after that car crashed in 2015, the team decided to up the ante and build the Alpha G, the most extreme GT-R ever to leave the AMS workshop.

The new car features an AMS V2 Pro Series billet block, billet/carbon intake, and twin Garrett GTX turbos, which are capable of upwards of 70psi of boost and in excess of 2500hp (1864kW). Gidi debuted Alpha G at TX2K16, rattling off a few high sevens. Heading into TX2K17, the team once again secured the record with a 7.14 at 212mph (315kph), but the six remained elusive. TX2K17 saw Alpha G plagued with engine issues early on, including a fire and an overnight engine swap, indicating that the team was going for broke. With the fresh engine, the car went 7.08 followed by the 6.93 at 196mph.

Don’t think that this will spell the end to the R35 drag battle — if anything, it might be the trickle that opens the floodgates.