Remotes can be used for many things: changing the TV channel, playing video games, and controlling an RC car. But what if that RC car is a real Nissan GT-R? Would you be willing to take the controller and race a real supercar? For GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough, it was a no-brainer.
To celebrate the release of Gran Turismo Sport on the PlayStation 4, Nissan heavily modified a GT-R that could be driven entirely by a DualShock®4 controller. The “GT-R /C” was driven by Mardenborough around Silverstone’s National Circuit, where the car hit a top speed of 131 mph and averaged a speed of 76 mph. He controlled the car from a helicopter that followed the racecar around the track.
“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.”
