The recently-unveiled Mercedes-AMG GT and GT-S are the type of cars which shouldn't need a hefty amount of marketing money thrown at them in order to make a good impression, but Mercedes-Benz->ke187 seems to somewhat disagree. I say this because even though the models haven't yet reached dealerships, the Stuttgart car brand is still busy promoting them, with the latest example being two interactive 360-degree videos of the AMG GT-S filmed at the famed Laguna Seca track, in California.
Created to be viewed through a Samsung Gear Virtual Reality (VR) headset, which uses a Note 4 smartphone to offer a 360-degree representation of a multi-camera video->ke278, the two films are the latest in an entire series from Mercedes-Benz. The videos were shot by no less than 18 cameras mounted on special rigs all around and inside the car, with the footage being then stitched together for a continuous flow by the VR specialists from Visualise.
The result is an app called "Mercedes-AMG GT, " which can be downloaded for free from the Oculus Store and then used with a Samsung Note 4 and a Gear VR headset, giving users the ability to change their viewing point simply by tilting their head and looking around. Those with iPhones and iPads can also get the footage from the iTunes store here, while Android users will have to wait until January.
Using the gyroscopic sensors built into the smartphone or tablet, the iTunes and Android variants of the app will also give users a 360-degree viewpoint of the video, while desktop users can check out the first video here and the second one here (remember to look around via your mouse). Apparently, the AMG GT-S in the first hot-lap video is driven by DTM legend and AMG->ke8 brand ambassador Bernd Schneider.
Click past the jump for more details.
Why it matters
With 510 horsepower and 479 pound feet of torque extracted from a four-liter, twin-turbocharged V-8, the front-mid-engine AMG GT-S is probably the closest thing to a very fast rollercoaster on the Laguna Seca track, so the two aforementioned videos should do a pretty good job of transmitting a similar sensation to those who weren't actually there. Also, although Mercedes-Benz doesn't specify this, most of you probably realized that in the second video the AMG GT-S is driven very sideways by none other than Chris "Monkey" Harris, giving us proof that the footage was taken during the Mercedes-AMG GT press drive at Laguna Seca. Most of the words spoken by the British Journalist can also be heard in his own review of the AMG model.
While the resulting stitched images don't exactly look pristine, with a lot of weird angles sometimes meddling with the overall video, the simple fact that this type of technology can be experienced by just about anyone and for free (minus the cost of a smartphone and/or Gear VR headset, naturally) should be mind-boggling for a non-techie. Just imagine your dad with a VR headset on, banging his head and laughing like a maniac while Chris Harris takes him on a drift on the freaking Corkscrew.