Book Review: Ryan ZumMallen's 'Cult of GT-R'

A legal ruling from the Department of Transportation came down in 1988 to stem the flow of gray market vehicles into the United States.

"If a vehicle is less than 25 years old and was not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and/or was not so certified by its original manufacturer, it cannot be lawfully imported into the U.S. on a permanent basis unless NHTSA determines it eligible for importation."

Those cars, not certified for American roads, were often cheaper than ones that were made for the country, undercutting domestic sellers. That's the reason some versions of the legendary Nissan GT-R (built by the Japanese company as the sportiest version of its Skyline sedan and coupe) can't be imported here. Yet.

The story of the GT-R goes much deeper than that, with a fanbase that's more rabid than many of the Italian exotics. Customers of a certain age first saw the GT-R in Japanese anime while others, including many here in the U.S., found the car in one of the various racing video games it was featured it.

All of that and more is explored in Ryan ZumMallen's new paperback: Cult of the GT-R. It's on sale now at the Carrara Media Store and online. The special Wangan Edition (limited to 250 units, each one numbered and signed by the author, featuring higher quality paper and Midnight Purple cover) is available only through the Carrara Books online store.

ZumMallen goes impossibly deep on the legend of the GT-R, rooting out the stories surrounding one of the most sought after vehicles in the world.

The story picks up in a top-secret garage full of dozens of GT-Rs in Japan, waiting for their 25^th birthday so they can be legally imported by countless collectors in America. ZumMallen talks to the engineers, marketers and executives across Nissan's timeline painting a picture of the enthusiasts that surround the vehicle.

The risk for importing a vehicle like the GT-R before its 25^th year is severe, though it hasn't stopped many from trying. Some of those stories are also explored in the book where a good result allows a GT-R to see the business end of a crusher and a bad one means jailtime for the importer.

The book is especially poignant today as the Nissan Skyline R34, one of the most coveted of all versions, became legal to import this year as it began sales in Japan in 1998. However, the law still goes year by year meaning a 1999 Skyline won't be available until next year, and so on.

It's a great gift for any car fan or any fans of international industrial intrigue. Buy Cult of GT-R here.