Nissan’s Uproarious GT-R Lapping Le Mans Is 360-Degrees Of YouTube Video Awesomeness

We first got a taste of YouTube's 360-degree videos in March when the feature was first launched. The 360-degree view puts you right in the center of the action and allows you to pan around see every possible angle captured with cameras like the Ricoh Theta and Kodak SP360.

While YouTube’s 360-degree video collection has grown quite a bit since the March debut, a new video that popped up over the weekend is sure to thrill auto enthusiasts. The video gurus at Hamilton Kidd VR teamed up with Nissan’s NISMO racing division to capture the first ever 360-degree footage of a vehicle lapping the famed Le Mans racing circuit.

The production team mounted six GoPro cameras, weighing a total of just over 2 pounds, to a vibration free rig that was attached to the hood of a 550hp Nissan GT-R. Needless to say, this rig was built to withstand forces of +-3Gs and speeds of up to 196 mph on the straightaways.

When all was said and done, the production team was able to carve out 6 minutes of 360-degree, 4K footage from the terabytes of raw data that was captured. Using a bit of integrated motion graphics and CGI works in post production, we’re presented with the final product below (strap on Google Cardboard or a Samsung VR headset to get the Full Monty):

If you’d like to see some behind the scenes action on what it took to make this video possible, you can view that clip here:

Perhaps the folks at NISMO and Hamilton Kidd VR should revisit Le Mans for another 360-video when the next generation GT-R arrives in 2017 with its 700+ horsepower hybrid powertrain.