The long-awaited Nissan GT-R has finally made it to U.S. soil, and based on the crowd’s response, it is already a big hit. Whistles, applause and cheers welcomed the Nissan supercar as it made its North American debut in Los Angeles.

Decked out in silver, the GT-R’s aggressive styling and smooth looks in the front and circle taillights in the rear put together an aerodynamic package that screams high performance. In Nissan’s words, it “evokes the lines of a well-trained athlete.”

Built on an exclusive all-new Premium Midship platform, the GT-R has the world’s first independent rear transaxle ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system, which optimizes weight distribution and handling capability. In simpler terms, it will handle all the power the twin-turbochargers will put out.

With a lap time of 7:38 on the world famous Nürburgring track in Germany, the GT-R logged in one of the fastest times by a production-spec vehicle to date. The supercar is powered by an all-new, hand-built, VR series 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 that produces 480 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. It is mated to a 6-speed transmission and fast shifting can be done via paddle shifters.

But Nissan wanted to emphasize the GT-R isn’t just a car for the track; it’s suited for daily driving as well. There is seating for four passengers and trunk space for two golf bags or suitcases. A cockpit-style instrument panel features a video-game-inspired multifunction display that can give the driver 11 pages of information from acceleration to steering angle to brake pedal pressure.

The GT-R will arrive in showrooms during June 2008, with a starting price of $69,850 and $71,900 for the premium version. With performance stats showing 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds with a top speed of more than 190 mph, most will think of those numbers as champagne stats at a beer bargain.

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