Mercedes-AMG is releasing a series of videos allowing you to get sideways in a 2015 Mercedes-AMG GT S with a 360-degree view of a lap of the Laguna Seca Raceway by DTM champion Bernd Schneider.
MERCEDES-AMG will release, for free, a series of “immersive, 360-degree films – featuring some of the fastest and most exciting cars ever created”. Designed for Samsung Gear Virtual Reality devices, the first two videos have already dropped and show the all-new 2015 Mercedes-AMG GT S being driven, mostly sideways, around the Lagun Seca Raceway in California.
The films were shot in real time using a total of 18 cameras mounted on special rigs. The output from each camera was then electronically stitched together to create one seamless lap of the Laguna Seca track in 360 degrees. According to Mercedes-AMG, “The experience is so vivid, it feels like you’re hovering just off the front or back bumper of the new GT – a view even the most determined tailgater would struggle to replicate. Likewise, you can opt to take a virtual seat next to the driver to experience what the action feels like from inside the car,” Mercedes-AMG said in a statement.
Okay, it’s not all good news, though. See, while these videos do sound awesome, Australians will have to wait until next year to get their hands on a Gear VR headset. Samsung Australia recently announced it would be pushing back the launch of Samsung Gear VR to early-2015 (around February is our best guess). And it’ll be priced from $249. Oh, and you’ll need a Galaxy Note 4 smartphone for it to work.
But, back to the videos. They’re free to download through the Oculus Store by searching ‘Mercedes-AMG GT’ onto a powerful Galaxy Note 4 smartphone. Once the app has downloaded, the phone is inserted into the Samsung Gear VR headset and the user can simply look around, just like in real life.
If you want a no-frills option and you’ve got an iOS device then click here to download the app via iTunes. Once downloaded, you’ll be able to use your iPhone or iPad’s gyroscopic sensors inside the devices to allow you to move the camera angle in real-time to give you a 360-degree virtual view of hooning around Laguna Seca.
And for those who like to watch this sort of stuff while they’re meant to be working (my hand is up) desktop users can click here to watch DTM champ, Bernd Schneider driving the Mercedes-AMG GT S very sideways. But, be warned the videos take a while to load or, at least they did for me and then my decrepit mouse made it a bit tricky to manoeuvre the viewpoint around accurately.
