“When it comes to sports cars, no single model unites people like the golden child of the Japanese auto industry: the Nissan GT-R,” Ryan K. ZumMallen wrote on just the second page of his book. Getting straight to the point, this book sets out to prove that the GT-R is not only the most desired car maybe ever, but to tell the tale that led us here. Why are enthusiasts so taken by the mythical GT-R story? Is it just that we couldn’t buy them in the U.S.? Is it that we remember them from old Playstation games?
Author Ryan — also publisher at Carrara Media and life-long GT-R enthusiast — went to Japan to track down the history, talk to the people who made it happen, and witness the culture that forged the car in the first place. Here’s what he has to say about his own book:
It’s called Cult of GT-R: A True Story of Crime, Obsession and the World’s Most Coveted Car. It covers... well it covers a lot. The book encompasses Nissan history, smuggling arrests and controversies, street racing, my trip to Japan, my interviews with GT-R icons, the little-known fatal crash that led to the 25-year importing law, and the many ways companies are preparing for the highly-desired R34 GT-R to become eligible for import in January. Oh, and the past 200 years of fraught U.S.-Japan relations.
If this sounds like the kind of book you’d like to sink your GT-R loving teeth into, you can pick up a paperback copy over on the Carrara Media website ($31.47 or $53.52 for the special numbered-and-autographed Wangan edition), or order a digital e-book copy (just $9.99) to be delivered immediately. It’s a good read, and some of the chapters are a truly wild ride. Even if you don’t love Skylines with every fiber of your being, you’ll find some interesting anecdotes to pull that will really stick with you. Check it out!