TOKYO — There's something about the Nissan GT-R that brings out the hype in people.
"It's been like anticipating an asteroid hitting the Earth," said Chad Glass, a 37-year-old North Hollywood storyboard artist who moderates a forum at www.nagtroc.com, a website dedicated to the high-performance sports car.
Glass was talking about the debut of the new GT-R, a vehicle most Americans have never heard of and most likely won't be able to afford when it shows up in the U.S., considering its probable base sticker price of around $68,000.
It made its officially sanctioned public appearance today at the Tokyo Motor Show, and whether the extinction of the dinosaurs, or even a down tick in sales of rivals like the Porsche 911 Turbo, will follow won't be known until the critics weigh in and drivers get their hands on it.
But ever since the last GT-R rolled off the assembly line in 2002, the underground buzz machine -- complete with spy photos, rumors of amazing track times and all the rest -- has been in overdrive.
Photos of a "masked" GT-R running laps at Germany's famed Nurburgring course last fall received more Internet hits than shots of Miss USA Tara Conner's hijinks, Road and Track magazine reported. Pictures of the final production version of the car leaked out last week in defiance of Japan-based Nissan Motor Co.'s efforts at a press embargo.
Overkill? Not judging by the frenzy that enveloped the Nissan area of the Makuhari Messe convention complex as the minutes ticked down the GT-R's formal unveiling. Dozens of photographers jostled for position as a giant video screen played footage of the GT-R tearing up Nurburgring -- 13 miles in seven minutes and 38 seconds.
And suddenly there it was, a silver streak that looked menacing even inching onto the stage with Carlos Ghosn, chief of Nissan, behind the wheel.
Ghosn told fans what they wanted to hear: It's an all-new 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-6 that generates 480 horsepower and goes from zero to 62 mph in 3.6 seconds. He described the GT-R as "the ultimate physical expression" of Nissan's "passion for performance," and boasted that it was ready to take on "anyone, anywhere, any time."
Noted auto critic Aritsune Tokudaiji, serene amid the tumult, wasn't impressed. "It lacks freshness," was his snap judgment -- although he did allow that the GT-R's comeback was the highlight of the show.
