Drive your car on track, then race yourself afterwards. That’s the promise of a future upgrade on selected Lexus and Toyota models, which will let you download your track day action and replay it on the forthcoming version of legendary racing game, Gran Turismo.

The cars use GPS satellite tracking to trace your route, and everything from lateral and vertical G-forces to engine revs, and even each wheel’s individual speed, is logged by the on-board computer.

The real-life hot laps can then be uploaded via a USB memory stick on to a PlayStation, allowing the driver to race their ‘ghost’, attempt to beat the lap time and work out how to improve their performance on track next time.

More details on the long-awaited Gran Turismo 5 game emerged at last weekend’s Nürburgring 24 Hours race, where Auto Express senior road tester and racing driver, Owen Mildenhall, drove a tuned Lexus IS F alongside the title’s creator, Kazunori Yamauchi.

The V8-powered saloon will appear in the new game – which Owen got to try during the event. Owen took the controls of a Sony PlayStation 3 to sample the complete Nürburgring 24 Hours circuit – a Gran Turismo first – and also tried the new night racing feature.

“It’s incredibly accurate,” was Owen’s verdict. “And having raced in the real-life event the day before, I can tell you that every bump, crest and dip on the Nürburgring track is replicated. You’ll never recreate the race’s atmosphere in a game, but even the campsites look genuine!”

GT5’s release date has been pushed back several times, but when it arrives later this year, it will feature more than 1 000 cars, 20 tracks (including the Dunsfold circuit in Surrey, used by BBC’s Top Gear). It will also be one of the first games ever that can be played in stereoscopic 3D.

Plus, for the first time, gamers will be able to fully experience the Nürburgring, recreating the 24 Hours race, which uses both the grand prix track and the Nordschleife. The latter – dubbed Green Hell – can also be driven at night, to get an idea of what the pros go through during one of the world’s toughest races.

Adapted from AutoExpress

Porsche loves the low key approach to Nordschleife time-attacks, and last week’s session to see what the new 997 GT3 RS could manage was no exception.

Armed with a stopwatch, a crash hat, an RS and a sizeable pair of testicles, an unnamed Porsche test driver clocked a 7 minute 33 second lap – that’s seven seconds faster than the cooking GT3. He did this in some light traffic and, pulling data from earlier laps, showed that the theoretical ‘best lap’ would have been 7m30s.

That compares to the Nissan GT-R’s 7m27.56s, while quicker lap records lie with the Gumpert Apollo (7m11.57s) and Radical SR8LM (6m48s).

Not that Porsche cares too much about the relative speed of the competition, or that the Corvette ZR1 and Nissan GT-R have all gone faster. Failed attempts to coax them into making a few catty comments about the Americans and the Japanese, indictate they’ve had enough of that banter.

There’s one question we’d like answered though – what’s the longevity of these road cars at such insane speeds. How many sub 7m30s laps can a 1740 kg GTR do before the brakes melt and the tyres go pop? Likewise the ‘Vette. May be a 4-lap challenge from now on might provide a true indication. Were it possible, our money would be on Porsche to get the job done.

Adapted from Evo

The Devon GTX supercar has finally been revealed in production spec. Devon has officially unveiled the car at the ’09 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The big news, though, is Devon’s attempt on the current motoring holy grail – the Nordschleife lap record. It’s set to pack a V10 with upwards of 478 kW, which should help its cause. It’s sourced from the Dodge Viper, a car Devon initially tried to buy the rights to.

Viper fans will no doubt take a liking to the GTX – with the two cars barking up the same tree styling-wise. There is also a hint of Alfa Romeo 8C, Renault Sport Spider and Corvette Stingray, not forgetting those overly intricate gullwing doors, too.

Devon’s attempt at Eifel Mountain glory gained a prod in the right direction this week when the GTX lapped the Laguna Seca circuit in the US in a record-breaking 1m35.075s. It’ll face a sterner test at the Ring though, with the Radical SR8′s 6m55s to beat. Bad news for the GTX is that Radical are Ring-bound once again, with an extreme (but still road-spec) 338 kW SR8LM out to smash its predecessor’s time.

It’ll be driven by Dutch racing driver Michael Vergers, while the Devon will be piloted by Justin Bell, son of Le Mans legend Derek. Place your bets now…

Adapted from Evo

Meet the world’s fastest fire-fighting vehicle: Nissan’s specially modified GT-R that takes up role as an emergency response vehicle at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany. The fire-fighting R35 GT-R is a gift from Nissan to the Nurburgring operator and it was created in collaboration with M&M Automotive, a Bonn-based specialist for car development and motor sports. While the mechanical hardware remains intact, the GT-R’s rear seats were removed and replaced with a 50-litre water tank secured with a roll cage.

The 357 kW sports car also gets a medium-pressure extinguisher system (20 bars) as well as a winding device for the hose, while an additional radio communication system and a new set of Recaro sports seats complete the upgrades. The manufacturer claims that with a foam reach of around 18 meters and a 20-metre hose, the unit will be able to fight fire for around two minutes on a single tank.

Even though the extra equipment added 200 kg to the coupe’s weight, Nissan supports that the GT-R can still lap the Nurburgring circuit in less than 8 minutes. The standard model has recorded a lap time of the Nordschleife circuit of 7 minutes and 26.70 seconds.

Adapted from CarScoop

According to Renault, the most potent version of the previous generation Megane RS, the 169 kW R26.R that went on sale in October 2008 for a limited run of 450 examples, 230 of which are destined for Britain, has set new benchmark lap times at four UK tracks. The French carmaker announced that at Silverstone, Drivers-Republic recorded a lap time of 1 minute and 19.4 sec, almost three seconds faster than the more powerful Ford Focus RS that is equipped with a 220 kW 2,5-litre turbocharged five pot while at the West Circuit at Bedford Autodrome, Evo magazine timed the R26.R at 1m 29 sec beating the RS by almost two seconds.

Renault Megane R26.R – CarscoopAt Bruntingthorpe, Performance Car said that it timed the R26.R faster than the Focus RS, the Subaru Impreza STi Type UK and found it even faster than a 264 kW Revo-tuned Seat Leon Cupra. Finally, at Millbrook, Autocar magazine recorded a time of 1min and 15.6 seconds, a second faster than the Focus RS.

The French carmaker said that the R26.R, which boasts the same 2,0-litre turbocharged engine with 169 kW as the normal R26 but weighs 123 kg less than its standard counterpart, has now set benchmark times for a front-wheel drive production car at Silverstone, Bedford Autodrome, Millbrook and Bruntingthorpe.

Last year, the Megane R26.R established a new lap record for a front-wheel drive production car at the 13-mile Nurburgring circuit in Germany recording a time of 8 minutes 17 seconds.

We say b’Ring’ on the new Megane RS250.

Adapted from CarScoop

The Nissan GT-R, winner of the 2009 World Performance Car of the Year, improved its lap time at the Nurburgring’s Nordschleife circuit in late April with a time of 7 minutes 26.70 seconds. This new lap time means the GT-R is now only 0.4 seconds slower than the considerably more powerful Corvette ZR1.

Previous recorded lap times at the ‘ring were:

• 7 minutes 27.56 seconds on April 15, 2009
• 7 minutes 29 in April, 2008
• 7 minutes 38 in September, 2007

“This record demonstrates our commitment to the continuous evolution of the Nissan GT-R,” said Kazutoshi Mizuno, Chief Vehicle Engineer and Chief Vehicle Specialist.

“We would like to continue delivering the passion and pride of ownership to our customers by improving its performance every year.”

The Nissan GT-R has won more than a dozen awards globally including Car of the Year from CAR Magazine in the UK and Car of the Year by both Motor Trend and Automobile Magazine in the US.

The Nissan GT-R benefits from a strong image and heritage amongst performance car aficionados, especially in Australia, which was the only country globally to officially retail the previous R32 in the early ’90s.

The R35 GT-R was launched in Australia, Europe, GCC and New Zealand last month. Australian customers have so far ordered more than 170 GT-R’s.

In Japan more than 5900 GT-R’s have been sold up to March 2009. It went on sale in the US in July 2008 where 2100 have also been sold so far.

The new Nurburgring record lap was again set by Nissan Chief test driver Toshio Suzuki, who visited Australia in February for the car’s official launch. The blistering lap time was achieved on Dunlop tyres in dry but dusty conditions.

Adapted from CarAdvice