The Nissan GT Academy inspires film full of emotion and pure adrenaline, directed by Neill Blomkamp, entitled: “Gran Turismo: the story of an impossible dream”.
Nissan GT Academy inspires the film Gran Turismo: the success of the brand
Coming out in Italian cinemas on September 20th, the film is inspired by the true story of the innovative and revolutionary eSports program created and managed by Nissan and Sony to stimulate interest and increase accessibility to motorsports, identify talent among gamers and offer them the opportunity to become professional Nissan race car drivers.
Nissan GT Academy, from PlayStation to the real track
In the 8 years it lasted, from 2008 to 2016, the program has achieved considerable success all over the world and 22 participants have transformed their dream into reality, switching from their PlayStation controller to the track.
Among these, the protagonist of the film Jann Mardenborough, who in 2011 became Nissan GT Academy champion among 90,000 participants in the virtual competition. Thus began his career as a “real” driver at the wheel of a Nissan in the 24 hours of Dubai in 2011 – where he placed third – which then continued in the following years in Formula 3, Super Formula and Super GT. Nissan always dares to do what others don’t and with GT Academy it has left an indelible mark in the history of track racing and in the hearts of many fans.
Formula E
The Japanese company boasts 85 years of history in motorsport and has been involved in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, to bring the excitement and fun of electric vehicles to the general public. Formula E is also a development platform for electrification technologies for the entire Nissan range, called “from track to road – from road to track”, which allows the exchange of knowledge and experience between the worlds of electric motorsport and that of series cars.
This has allowed us to develop extremely competitive racing cars and to transfer electrification technologies highly appreciated by customers to production cars, such as e-POWER, Nissan’s plug-free electric.