Nissan GT-R takes on drone

Nissan has revealed a drone that's claimed to hit 100km/h in just 1.3 seconds and keep up with its upgraded 2017 GT-R super-coupe around a racetrack.

Revealed ahead of this weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed, where both models will be on display, the GT-R Drone is said to be one of the fastest accelerating FPV (First Person View) racing drones in the world.

To prove it, Nissan put it side by side with its MY17 GT-R around a purpose-built 1.2-mile course at the UK's Silverstone GP circuit, where – unsurprisingly – the car beat the drone by the narrowest of margins as you'll see in this video.

The race saw Nissan NISMO driver Ricardo Sanchez pilot the latest GT-R, while 2015 British National Drone Racing champion James Bowles operated the drone.

Custom designed by World Drone Prix Champion, Tornado XBlades Racing, around a race-spec Sky-Hero quadcopter frame, the quad-prop GT-R Drone employs a special race-tuned configuration and low-drag canopy.

While Nissan doesn't state a 0-100km/h time for the GT-R, the 1752kg coupe is powered by a twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6 driving all four wheels and has a 315km/h top speed. Other vital statistics include a 4710mm length, 1895mm width, 1370mm height, 12.2m turning circle and 637Nm of torque.

The GT-R Drone, meanwhile, measures 300mm long, 300mm wide and 65mm high, weighs just 700g, has a 300mm turning circle, static thrust of 4.68kg, top speed of 185km/h and is motivated by a 1400mah Lithium-Polymer battery powering 2000kV XNova motors.