How do you film a high-speed performance car capable of reaching speeds up to 300kph (186mph)? You simply take another one and modify it to be used as a high-speed camera car itself.
In a press release, Nissan has shared how it captured promotional footage for its 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO using another GT-R that had been modified to be a purpose-built camera car. To get the job done, Nissan enlisted the help of Mauro Calo, ‘a professional precision driver and automotive video expert known for his work on big-budget blockbuster movies and automotive TV shows.’
$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_4446454626″,”galleryId”:”4446454626″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”isMobile”:false}) });
After plenty of planning and prototyping, Nissan and Calo got to work ‘bespoke tubular structure that was welded to the chassis and able to hold the weight of the professional carbon-fiber gimbal camera mounting system.’ In addition to the camera rig, the car was covered with a matte black wrap and gained a new name of sorts—Godzilla Tracking Rig (GT-R).
‘Thanks to its low center of gravity, adjustable sports suspension and four-seater configuration, the GT-R is the perfect base car to accommodate a camera rig of this type,’ says Nissan in its press release.
Using a four-person team (with not much room to spare inside the coupe), Calo drove while a gimbal operator, focus puller and director captured the required footage for the promotional material. The above behind-the-scenes video is promotional in its own regards, but it still shows the incredible camera rig Calo and the Nissan team were able to develop.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)