The dream of any remote-control car fan must be akin to driving a real racer around a world-class racetrack, using only a game controller. And this veteran driver and gaming fan got to experience it. As part of a promotion for the upcoming PlayStation 4 game Gran Turismo Sport, set for release this month, Nissan invited Jann Mardenborough to take a few laps with a Nissan GT-R using only a PlayStation 4 DualShock controller. We recently got our hands on the game and took it for a test drive.
The action took place at Silverstone National Circuit in Towcester, England, with Mardenborough hovering in a Raven II helicopter above the car as it navigated the 1.6 mile course.
The car, dubbed the Nissan GT-R/C, was heavily modified for the stunt, with robotic controls to operate the throttle, brakes, steering, and transmission. The PS4 controller itself was unmodified, but had a range of about half a mile. Two other operators monitored the car on separate radio frequencies, where they could apply the brakes or cut power to the engine if needed.
The Nissan was powered by a standard 542bhp V6-powered 2011 R35, but it was also outfitted with a Racelogic VBOX Motorsport sensor, which provided data about the car’s speed to Mardenborough on an LCD display in the helicopter.
Mardenborough, a winner of the Nissan GT Academy competition, which combines actual track events with virtual racing, averaged 75 miles per hour and hit a top speed of 131 mph during the event.
“The GT-R/C has brought my two worlds together – the virtual one of gaming and the reality of motorsport – in a way I never thought possible,” Mardenborough told Autocar. “Steering, acceleration and braking were all intelligently configured, allowing for controlled application so I could really get a feel through the corners and hold it steady down the fast straights.”
You’ll be able to drive several GT-R models in Gran Turismo Sport, as well as the futuristic Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo that was revealed a few months ago. If you’d like to see the full roster, Polyphony Digital released a full list of cars available in the game a couple weeks ago. Gran Turismo Sport will be released in the U.S. on October 17 and in Europe on October 18.
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Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
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