I just had a weeklong date with "Godzilla."

In case you're wondering, "Godzilla" is the nickname for Nissan's ultrahigh-performance GT-R coupe, an all-wheel-drive wonder that is at once terrifying, scintillating, reassuring and utterly fascinating.

The GT-R has long, distinguished bloodlines dating to 1969, starting with a smallish four-door sedan stuffed with a big, two-liter, six-cylinder engine. In the 40 years that have ensued, it's been a Japanese icon and the darling of street racing video game lovers everywhere. It's also a rolling technological showcase for Nissan.

GT-Rs won 29 consecutive races in Japan from 1990 to 1993 alone, and dozens more in prior years.

"GT-Rs were only available in Japan, occasionally Australia, and they always had right-hand drive," said Colin Price, manager of technology communications for Nissan. "Partly because they were not available here, they became forbidden fruit, and they developed an underground following in the United States. Hard-core car enthusiasts know about Godzilla."

As is the case with anything that becomes an icon, legends grew up around the GT-R over the years. One engine in modified version delivered as much as 1,000 horsepower, for instance -- or so the unproven story goes.

But this all-new one -- and the first version to come into the United States legally -- is something else again. It's terrifying by virtue of the sheer visual impact it makes on you.

The huge tires and road wheels alone look as though they'll eat you alive -- never mind the sinister, menacing look of the car itself. And it's scintillating because of its breathtaking performance.

It's reassuring because this is one supercar you can drive every day, and do so comfortably.

"That's the whole point. We wanted to make this car so that it is a multipurpose vehicle. If you want to drive like your hair's on fire, it will do that pretty well," Mr. Price said. "Or you can use it like a normal car to cruise back and forth to work in comfort. It will do that well, too."

And if you're wondering why they nicknamed it Godzilla, just touch the accelerator pedal. I dare you.

Once you hit that pedal, you are gone. You are instantly slammed back into the superbly bolstered driver's seat, the hairs on your head begin to stand on end, and a little chill crawls up your spine.

What's really cool is the jet-engine-like sound that rises the faster you drive. And yet, for such an awesome performance car, the interior is absolutely silent -- for good reason, Mr. Price said.

The chief engineer of the car "wanted to be able to carry out a normal conversation between driver and passenger at 186 miles an hour. So there's very little wind noise or other interior noise," Mr. Price added.

This car is so rock-solid and smooth that you won't even think about the speedo needle hurtling around its gauge. Look up, and you'll see that you're burying the needle at 100 in what seems like a nanosecond.

Meanwhile, your local friendly police officer will likely be there in a flash, grinning broadly as he or she reaches for that old ticket pad.

The performance credentials are impeccable. It comes calling with a 3.8-liter, 480-horsepower twin turbo engine that puts out a tree stump-pulling 434 foot pounds of torque. There's a six speed paddle-shifted sequential gearbox with dual clutches that can peel off gearshift changes in two-tenths of a second.

Huge Brembo brakes, the largest I've ever seen, are standard. The all-wheel-drive system is electronically controlled, and there are Bilstein shock absorbers that allow you to adjust the right setting yourself.

Yet, this car is something of an enigma, too: Just how do you go from 0-60 in 3.2 seconds, have a top speed of almost 200 mph -- and still manage 18 miles per gallon, which is what I averaged, in all-round driving, and 21 on the highway?

All this -- at $69,850 to start. Yes, that's a lot of green, but it's a pittance if you compare it with the company this car keeps: Lamborghini, Ferrari and the like. Each of which will run you $200,000, at least.

While you're inside the GT-R, your eye travels to the multifunction display to your immediate right. There, some 10 screens done up in various colors and with graphs and curves and waves, tell you all you would ever need to know about how the car is performing.

Depending on which display you choose, you'll get up-to-the-second information on oil, water temperature, oil pressure, turbo boost, steering angle, G forces and other good stuff.

There is something you'll need to get used to with the GT-R: Noisy gears.

This car's transmission is in the rear, so every time you change gears, you will hear them click and clank. It sometimes sounded as though metal was grinding against metal. I feared, as my stomach flip-flopped, that I was in trouble.

"You hear it and you think to yourself, 'What the heck is going on back there?' But the sounds are normal. That's all because of the transmission's being located in the rear. So, yes, you'll have some discomfiting sounds," Mr. Price said.

"There's also hydraulic pumps back there engaging and disengaging the clutches as you go, and there's sounds involved in that too," he said.

If you like cars, you're probably already salivating over the GT-R. Want one? Better hurry. There are 2,400 GT-Rs coming out this year, and 1,700 are already pre-sold with the first car delivered last month.