The car, dubbed the Nissan GT-R/C, hit speeds of over 130 miles per hour as Mardenborough steered it around Silverstone’s National Circuit from above, riding in a helicopter with DualShock 4 controller in hand. There’s nobody in the car, which is capable of being remotely driven at speeds of up to 196 mph.
Nissan GT-R does 130+ mph at Silverstone via Playstation controller
Nissan has had a close relationship with the “Gran Turismo” series for years. Nissan cars, including the GT-R, have been a part of the games, but the automaker has also used the series as a tool to recruit factory race drivers through its GT Academy program. Now, Nissan has taken a virtual driver turned real-world racer, GT Academy winner and Nismo driver Jann Mardenborough, and blended his skills by allowing him to remotely pilot an actual GT-R around Silverstone with a Playstation controller.
The stunt is part of the rollout of “Gran Turismo Sport,” the latest in the long-running (20 years!) driving simulator series. The game launches in the U.S. on Oct. 17. The remote driving system in the GT-R/C was built by JLB Design, which has built over 70 full-size remote-control vehicles.
You can see the in-car footage of the run in the video from Nissan below: