Need for speed

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Here in Hollywood, big premieres can be pretty exciting and glamorous events. But they can also get pretty routine when you’re working the beat. But the Nissan GT-R debut at the L.A. Auto Show was a double premiere, and the red carpet was crawling with an unusual number of young hotties.

See, it was Electronic Arts’ launch party for ‘Need for Speed,’ the next generation of its wildly successful video game that features that beautiful GT-R. The original game grossed about $1.8 billion. There was a display of extremely fast modified cars, and inside, there it was: the new Nissan GT-R.... And guess who got to drive it? Well, on a video screen with two thumbs, that is.

The next day, I watched Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s chief executive, pull the wraps off the real GT-R at the auto show’s press day. (Second major debut this week for the City of Angels.)

The real GT-R is the 10th generation of Nissan’s legendary Skyline, which until now had never been sold in the States. Topping out at 190 mph, it’s truly a super-car: 480 horsepower, 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, all-wheel drive and a boatload of technology. It’s a dream for less than $70,000, and as sexy as the cuties at the video game premiere.

EA’s ‘Need for Speed’ isn’t too shabby either. With its detail so graphic and realistic, I felt terrible when I snapped off my GT-R’s side-view mirror, brushing the guardrail. Well, virtually. It hurts a lot less that way.

-- Josh Hancock