According to local news reports, no one was seriously hurt when the GT-R lost control and slammed into a busy Credit Union. Police say the driver narrowly missed a number of pedestrians and speed was likely a factor in the incident. Damage to the building, vehicle, and driver's legal fund is extensive.

(Hat tip to Mike, Terrence, and Chuck!)

[News1130 Via NAGTROC]

If you live in the area, Tokyo Families Magazine has directions to the park, which looks like this from space:

You can see more photos of the place on Flickr.

Photo Credit: WrightFlyer/Panoramio

The "R" in R850, as you might guess, is for the "race fuel." We wonder if the "P" in P800 means "pump" or "plebeian." The 850 HP and 820 lb-ft numbers are the assumed amount at the crank given the dyno numbers, which show about 740 AWHP and 715 lb-ft. If you've got a GT-R and are itching to throw all warranty concerns to the wind, the package runs about $20,900 and includes the tunes for both pump and race gas, as well as a larger dual-core radiator, thermostat, and Switzer MONSTER intercoolers.

And if you can't handle the power, there's always this thing to save you.

[Source: Switzer]

Yesterday, 73% of you found that the egg-shaped BMW with the single front door didn't go over-easy. Today we're doubling the doors, and octagonalizing the number of cylinders with a mazda miata that's ready to do battle against any number of foes threatening either tokyo or your stop light drag racing honor.

Back in the day, Blue Oyster Cult sang Oh no, they say hes got to go, Go go godzilla, yeah. Oh no, there goes tokyo, Go go godzilla! in honor of the magical thunder lizard who at first threatened, and then became the protectorate of, the Honsü island denizens. And that amalgamation of mythological Japanese dragon and the unbridled power of American nuclear threat made Godzilla the perfect appellation for the original Ford-powered versions of the perky mazda drop-tops.

Godzilla, the car, wedged a Ford 302 under the hood of the miata, almost doubling the available horsepower over the original 1.6 litre four banger's 120, and making it the spiritual successor to Cobras, Scarabs and Tigers. The 9+ second zed to sixty time dropped to under five, and broken axles littered junkyards with abandon.

Today we have the offspring of Godzilla, or ミニラ, for an asking price of $10,000 in Maple Money. Based on a 1990, first-generation Miata, the conversion has been handled by an authorized MonsterMiata shop up in Vancouver, and if you're not familiar with Monster, well, you should be. Backing up the legendary Ford small block, the rest of the drivetrain has been sufficiently beefed up to handle all that torque with a T5 rower in the middle, and a Thunderbird SC pumpkin out back. A rakish set of Panasports and a hefty roll bar help make the car look the part, while not fully giving away the Tokyo-leveling beast that lives under the hood.

Or lived, as it were. While everything in the ad starts out as exciting as watching Rodan hatch from his centuries-old shell, there is a but. . . that brings the party to a halt like Mechagodzilla on a rainy day. It turns out that the 302 resting under this miata's hood (and which the seller claims did 260 bhp at the rear wheels on the dyno) is currently resting in peace. He goes on to say that he is selling the car because repairing it would demand even more horsepower, and that could be an expensive proposition. He does spin a scenario involving a junkyard small block extraction and jacking in that car's engine, but hey, it's a 302- you can pretty much buy those things at Pep Boys!

So what's the verdict on this killer convertible? Is that $10,000 a Nice enough Price for you to pine for The Return of Godilla? Or does that blown motor make you think the Crack Pipe is going to Destroy All Monsters?

You decide!

Vancouver Kijiji, or go here if the ad gets defeated in battle.

Currently up for grabs on Ebay for a much-cheaper-than-the-real-thing price of $51; this one-off was created using a 1/18th scale Jada Toys Nissan GT-R mated with loving and delicate care to a 500GB Seagate 2.5 inch hard drive. The doors and hood still open revealing a fully detailed engine bay and interior. To access your new desktop racer, a USB 2.0 interface is located in the rear along with a supplied 6-foot USB cable. Better get cracking 'cause this is the first and currently, only one of its kind and with a little over 8 days remaining, we're sure the price will skyrocket. [GTRblog via Ebay]

The Focus RS is no match for the GT-R on The 'Ring, where the massive power and sophisticated AWD setup gives the Nissan a clear advantage over the FWD, 300 HP Ford. Take the two out to some wonderful back roads in the English countryside and it's a slightly different story. Whereas the GT-R is all about the controlled distribution of force, the Focus RS is all about confident fun. As a real world daily driver on narrow roads with steep drop-offs and few long straights, the Focus RS wins out in terms of experience. [Autocar]

A sharp right turn looms dangerously close and you're traveling about 50 MPH too fast for a safe transition. Physics are against you as the rear attitude of your Switzer-tuned Nissan GT-R yaws to the right whereas it should be radically left. Overzealous on the throttle after the long left sweeper, only a carefully controlled slide will save your hide now. You pitch the wheel right and apply a sharp stab on the accelerator. Counter-intuitive as it may seem, the genius differentials work their magic and spread the new energy towards all the right vectors. The heavyweight hypercar rotates clockwise in preparation for the immediate turn while you're fighting the precision wheel with instinctive, twitching movements. No time stumble through the traction circle in your head now. Even in laissez-faire R-mode, the dynamic stability control works diligently to keep everything in order while you're sailing through the tight, flat bend sideways.

The more mild-mannered P700 –- developing only 626 HP at the wheels –- rattled off a no-launch-control 0-60 time of 3.35 seconds and a 1/4 Mile of 11.28 seconds at 132 MPH. Here with more boost and up over 74 HP, the as-yet-untimed P800 should do even better.

A flat foot on the gas then a pull on the right paddle and you're back in the triple digits. 110 MPH. Audacious power like you've never experienced grips your chest. The straight hugs gently left to follow the curvature of the landscape — but not enough to deter you from your pursuit of ultimate speed. 130 MPH. The small white braking markers register on your radar, but, if you remember one thing from driving school, it's that you brake too damn early anyways. 145 MPH. You're rocketing past the 200m mark and still flat out. You're even with the 100m mark and threshold braking for your life. The delicate ballet of velocity and balance repeats itself and you manage to make it through yet another hectic turn. On the exit, you lay into the pedal and you're gone.

Riding in the van on the way back from the track, you're utterly depleted; both physically and mentally. Only now are you able to reflect on the day's events and the details of exactly what piece of demonically engineered hardware did this to you. Through the fog, the technical details come streaming back to you. The assailant was a Switzer P800 Nissan GT-R with over 700 HP at the wheels. The meat of the tuning package included a new pair of turbos, monster intercoolers, a new fuel management computer and catalytic converter deletes. The kit resembles the Switzer P700 package, but de-smogged and loaded with even more piss and vinegar. Other than these carefully chosen pieces of precision racing equipment, the car essentially remains stock. You keep everything, from the Gran Turismo-themed center gauge stack to the 8-way power driver's seat. In automatic mode, the dual clutch transmission cooperates as smoothly as the new Town and Country minivan. Astonishingly, all of this added power comes without any major drivability compromises. Turbo lag is basically nonexistent compared to a stock, 480 HP GT-R. Aside from the slight flutter of aftermarket blow-off valves after lifting the throttle, even the most vetted Nissan enthusiast would have difficulty distinguishing this P800 GT-R from a stock vehicle This goes double when you stop at the gas station and feed it the recommended 93 octane fuel instead of the race gas that most setups of this caliber demand.

Surely, there must be some strong disqualifying factor about this whole package, right? The new Godzilla has been called "mechanically untouchable" by many. If you go home to your cadre of driving buddies with nothing but sunshine, you'll surely come off as nothing more than a converted fan-boy. There are indeed minor troubles; the off-road-use-only designation as a direct result of the cat delete pipes. The only other issue that exists is the cost of the package: roughly $16,650, plus the cost of the cat delete pipes and a few other small parts. You also need to bring your own custom cat-back exhaust. Chances are, if you've got the money to be playing with a GT-R, you've got the residual income to boost it into hypercar territory. This early in the Godzilla tuning game, Switzer's P800 package appears to comes out far ahead of the other shops as far as total package value, reliability and streetable performance. Even in the snow.

This is the latest line of accessories for the Nissan GT-R that will be available with the launch of Godzilla. All of the accessories have the same look and feel of the vehicle and the briefcase is even completely carbon fiber. These are the kinds of briefcases that hold bundles and bundles of money. Regardless, future owners and future wannabe owners should definitely check out this line of accessories to increase that street-cred. Oh, and the leather hat is a bit much. [Carscoop]

But who cares about logic? We want this. We want it so we can tease the drooling fanboys. We want it so we can pull up to the McDonald's window in reverse. We want it so we can give out rides to confused old folks from the retirement home. We want it so we can get pulled over by a local officer who has no idea that the car is illegal. We want to drift it, race it, and jump it. We want it because it'd be stupid to buy one.
[J's Garage Export]

See that car next to it? That's a Honda/Acura NSX, the most recent Japanese supercar to grace the US from sea to shining sea. And while the NSX was of the extra light and nimble European mid-engined supercar variety, the new GT-R is decidedly more American (lots of power, engine in the front, gigantic proportions). [i-club via MotiveMag]

It's while the car is lurking through the tight streets of Tokyo that you get a sense just how big this sucker is. We know we're probably absolutely last on the list for keys to this car—what with our insistence on keeping the Carlos Ghosn: Superhero picture alive and well. Nonetheless, should we ever get seat time, our assumption is there will be a certain amount of more tire smoke, not to mention jokes about hacking out the back window in favor of a truck bed.

We're not sure what makes us so fascinated with smashed exotics, but there's always a good story there if you search long enough. Given the relative affordability of the GT-R, we're ready for a lot more GT-R smash up action. [NAGTROC via AutoBlog]

First of all, this is a Skyline. When the R32 left the factory, the engineers colored the governor yellow so that buyer's could easily locate it and rip it out, unlocking the engine's full and quite super potential. With the new GT-R, Nissan is doing a 180, and not just in kilometers per hour. According to reports, the ECU on the latest Skyline is is quite heavily encrypted and therefor not easily hacked. So, that's no good.

Our second gripe is all about Orwellian, Big Brother-type precedents. Yeah, how cute, when you get to the track you can go faster. We get it. But how long until this sort of technology filters down to the rest of us? As in you're in a 35 mph zone — you can only go 35 mph. Never forget how O'Brien described the future to Winston Smith, "...a boot stamping on a human face forever." We may be hyperbolizin' and feeling a bit like the Red Rocker, but we're still shuddering. (You need to take a SOMA or something dude... - Ed.) [Gizmodo]