The mastermind behind the Gran Turismo series has proven that he can handle real cars as well as he took the 2009 Nissan GT-R for a joy ride. Not only could the game's creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, handle the famed Nurburgring track, but he did so with it wet. Yamauchi even cites his familiarity with the track from the video game to help his real life driving. I doubt Yamauchi beat the 7:29 mark on the same ring, but he manages to keep it on the slippery track. See, Mom, video games are good for something. Check out the video above for the clips of him driving and follow the link to see the entire clip that features interviews about Godzilla and more. [CarScoop]

The friendly Finnish Fans of Cars all over the World tell us today the new 2009 Nissan GT-R can now lay claim to being one of the fastest production cars in the world — in Nürburgring lap times. Nissan claims GT-R chief test driver Tochio Suzuki completed the famous German circuit in just 7 minutes and 29 seconds during runs on April 16th and 17th. According to their records, this puts the GT-R in second place for fastest laps by unmodified production cars — that's just behind the Pagani Zonda F's blistering 7 minutes and 27 seconds last November. Guess that wet lap time last year of 7 minutes and 38 seconds was just a test run, eh?

Kazutoshi Mizuno, the GT-R's Chief Vehicle Engineer said

"At last year's testing, we were frustrated by the conditions at the Nürburgring, always believing that the GT-R could go under seven minutes 30 seconds, the GT-R proves it is among the fastest mass-production cars in the world. We set out to build a multi-performance supercar accessible to anyone, anytime and anywhere - I believe the GT-R has delivered that promise."

Yeah well, we're beginning to think that car could make a hero out of even us. [via World Car Fans]

Despite the fabulous camera phone quality of these photos, the visage of Zingerman's Roadhouse behind this 2009 Nissan GT-R is undeniable proof Godzilla is stalking the streets of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Nissan has a development facility in the area, so it's not entirely surprising to see the beast from the far east there, but nonetheless, it's the first we've seen on the road in the mitten state. The only other reason for it to be in the area we can think of is to impress all those University of Michigan engineering students. Right, students. (Thanks for the pics Skyler)

You knew it was bound to happen. We've already seen the first examples of modifications on the 2009 Nissan GT-R. But now comes something even more — perverse. That's right friends, here come the body kits. Tuning shop Garage Defend has brought their twin goals of increased down force and debatably increased style to Nissan's new Godzilla. Their modifications include front end canards, a new spoiler at the back, an inch and a half drop, new seats and a new muffler system. We're expecting this will be among the tamest of modified GT-Rs until such time as they start hitting our nation's West Coast. Then, whoa nelly, you better grab the women and children and run for shelter from the tuning madness.

[NihonCar]

Rawr, do as Godzilla says or face the wrath of Godzilla! Now Godzilla says to buy many Godzilla accessories including a briefcase, wallet, gloves, emblem, keychains, cell phone straps, shirts, hats and more!

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]

That new 2009 Nissan GT-R R35 that we saw all bent and busted yesterday over in Malaysia? Yeah, you remember. Anyway, the folks at Wrecked Exotics found themselves some new photos of the broken Godzilla. One more moment of silence? Yeah, it's almost a requirement. [Wrecked Exotics]

The folks over at NAGTROC snagged some shots of a new 2009 Nissan GT-R R35 in a slight state of disrepair this morning. And by "slight state of disrepair" we mean crumpled, crunched and crap-kicked. It's sad seeing a speed demon like this all busted up — it's like watching Godzilla getting the scales kicked off of him by Mothra. OK, that's not true. In reality this is worse for us to look at — because everyone knows this here Godzilla ain't imaginary. Pardon us while we spend a moment wiping away our tears. But we've got to look on the bright side — as one Jalopnik editor said upon seeing the sad, sad pics: "Well, at least we know the airbags work." Bright side, indeed. (Hat tip to Eric!)

[via NAGTROC]

Just in case you've bought a new GT-R, but you lack any common sense when it comes to vehicular accessorization, Nissan has included these helpful illustrations in the owner's manual for the JDM version. We're guessing the big X means you're not supposed to put giant fender flares and oversized spoilers on the GT-R. Nissan apparently thinks they got it right on their own, thank you very much. Although someone better tell that to Mine's. The other illustrations have more helpful hints; like how to use a strategically placed cola can to sabotage someone's brakes, or how to push your unsuspecting buddy's GT-R onto a railway crossing. You know, the little things kids these days do for a laugh.

[Cobb Tuning via AutoBlog]

We remember being in the exact spot where this video was taken. It's right next to the Asahi TV building and those lit trees were just being decorated at the time. Of course, we were there back in October during our coverage of the Tokyo Auto Show and we were being propositioned in a certain way, but we were totally right there, small world huh. Anyway, the driver of the 2008 Nissan GT-R is showing off his fancy shade of orange and then dusts the camera with impressive vigor. Looks like he's got some body kit bits and fancy wheels too. It's nice to see one that isn't in silver or black (or hot pink), even if it is Halloween themed..

No, I'm not saying that I personally have a Nissan GT-R. I'm talking about Mine's, the Japanese Tuner of Gran Turismo and Best Motoring fame. Recently, they brought their R35 GT-R with all the Mine's go-fast goodies to the Tsukuba Circuit to do some testing, and they left with a best lap of 59.367 seconds. To put this in perspective, a normal R35 GT-R will run a lap of about 1:02, and a new Mitsubishi Evo X or Subaru STi will do it in about 1:06. To run a sub-one-minute lap is a benchmark for turbo-crazed JDM tuners. Of course, with a notable lap time, there are always factors (weather, driver) that have little to do with the actual car. Either way, the Their's Your's Mine's GT-R is indeed an impressive piece of kit. They've upgraded the suspension, exhaust, brakes, intake, rear spoiler, and the computer chip. Still in development are parts to further aid the aerodynamics of the mirrors, hood, front canards, front spoiler and side outlets. And what's even better— we hear they're bringing it to the US.

All we've heard is that Mine's is bringing their white test car here next month. We're not exactly sure why this mega-Godzilla is coming to our shores, but we thought we'd give you a warning now, just in case things go terribly wrong and the monster destroys a city or eats a helicopter or something. [2009GTR.com][GT Channel]

We knew the new Nissan GT-R (R35) was big, but putting it next to the last generation Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) makes it look like a hulking behemoth. One would think the magic of perspective would slim it down so as to not look so porky, but the distance only seems to inflate the size. This is like one of those impossible reality drawings that make our brains hurt. From this angle it almost looks like one Godzilla is preparing to eat the other Godzilla.

Our buddies over at Nihon Car have gotten their filthy mitts on the new Nissan GT-R. We've covered Godzilla pretty exhaustively here, but they've got beautiful video of the beast in motion. Good old-fashioned car pr0n from a closed circuit course gives you an idea of just how composed this vehicle is when driven hard. The part we liked best was the in-motion shots—we weren't expecting the interior to be so jet-fighter like. All those digital gauges and doodads have our inner nerd panting.

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 very torn about this one. In Japan, the new 2009 Nissan GT-R's are limited to a top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h). Which, quite frankly, is depressing. Remember though— that's Japan only. American and European hoons are (supposedly) limited to 155 mph (250 km/h). Back in Japan, should you take your Godzilla to a track, the GPS doohickies tell the computer to remove the limiter. Makes sense, right? Limit the car to a moderate top speed on the road, and then unleash its full, city-smashing, Mothra-wrasslin' potential on the track. We have two major problems with that.

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]

The new US-spec Nissan GT-R will be revealed in just ten minutes. You have been warned. Seriously. That was the warning — Carlos Ghosn's totally ghosn-a kick yer ass if you don't pay heed.

Well, here it is, a real official shot of the Nissan GT-R we'll be seeing debut live at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month. For the time being, we guess we'll have to take these shots of the new GT-R taken by the same photographic genius behind the Subie shots we keep seeing. [via Edmunds Straightline]