The Nissan GT-R /C Project Car

The Nissan GT-R /C Project Car

Nissan has created the ultimate remote-control car for gamers – the Nissan GT-R /C. October 18^th will mark the 20^th year of the popular racing video game Gran Turismo Sport. Nissan has been a part of the Gran Turismo experience from the beginning offering up its most popular sports cars to be emulated in this realistic racing simulator. This year Nissan decided to take it a step further in celebration of their 20 year involvement in this epic franchise.

Instead of simply providing cars for the game, Nissan decided to bring the game to the car. The Nissan GT-R is one of the most popular vehicles in the Gran Turismo franchise so Nissan decided to design the Nissan GT-R /C for the gamer. The one-off Nissan GT-R /C was completely designed to be operated from a Playstation 4 controller.

With such a powerful performance vehicle modified to be driven in this unique way who do you get that can really handle the nuances of remote controlled racing? How about Nismo athlete Jann Mardenborough! Winner of the 2011 GT Academy competition, Jann beat 90,000 contestants to earn his chance to race for Nissan in the Dubai 24 Hour race. Jann Mardenborough began his career having only raced in simulators, but now he currently competes in formula racing for Nissan.

Jann put the Nissan GT-R /C to the ultimate drive test on Silverstone’s famous National Circuit. In order to create the ultimate gaming experience, and to ensure the perfect third-person-view of his Nissan GT-R /C, Jann controlled the GT-R /C from the cockpit of a helicopter. Jann averaged a 76 mph and reached a top speed of 131 mph. His fastest lap at Silverstone was 1:17:47.

“This was once-in-a-lifetime, truly epic stuff,” said Mardenborough. “The GT-R /C has brought my two worlds together – the virtual of gaming and the reality of motorsport – in a way I never thought possible. The response from the car when using the controller was far more engaging than I thought it would be. JLB Design has done an incredible job at making everything respond really well. 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. Driving a full-size, remote-control GT-R to 131 mph at Silverstone whilst chasing it down in a helicopter was an unforgettable experience. Now that’s innovation that excites!”

Nissan plans to use the GT-R /C project car to tour primary and secondary schools in the UK as part of a promotion to encourage careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

You can watch the video of Jann Mardenborough racing the Nissan GT-R /C at Silverstone here.

Image via Pixabay