This Nissan GT-R Might Be the Coolest Behind-the-Scenes Car Ever
Published on Tue, Feb 11, 2020
By: The LACar Editorial Staff
Many movies have insane supercar driving scenes, but how do you film them? Well, just put a camera on a supercar of your own!
Nissan wanted some awesome footage of the 2020 GT-R NISMO unleashing its full potential on the track. But there was a problem. How do you keep up with the fastest GT-R ever created? Introducing Maruo Calo; precision driving expert and automotive filming guru. Calo has background experience in filming some high-profile movies and television shows, so this challenge was nothing new. He decided to film the 2020 GT-R NISMO with… another GT-R.
“When I started to think about developing a high-performance camera car, I quickly realized that the Nissan GT-R was the only car that would meet my criteria,” said Calo. “It has supercar performance, with outstanding all-wheel drive handling and stability. It’s famously reliable, and it can seat the team I need to operate the camera system. There were no other contenders.”
For the camera system design, Calo and his team fitted the GT-R with a bespoke tubular structure that was welded to the chassis and able to hold the weight of the professional carbon-fiber gimbal camera mounting system.
Typically, the vehicle of choice for automotive video would be a high-performance SUV. The only issue is an SUV’s lack of speed and agility. The GT-R happens to be very fast and nimble. Thanks to a low center of gravity, adjustable sport suspension and the all-important four-seater configuration, the GT-R is a no-brainer for this challenge.
This kind of camera work requires all four seats to be used in the GT-R. With Calo driving, a gimbal operator, a focus puller and a director can all be in the car at once. By utilizing this teamwork, the crew is able to capture exquisite footage of the worlds fastest cars, including the Nissan GT-R NISMO.
“I knew already, from driving it on photo and video shoots, what a great car the Nissan GT-R is,” Calo said. “But since I adapted my Nissan GT-R to be a high-speed camera car and have been using it to film some of the world’s fastest cars on track, my respect and appreciation of its performance, reliability and stability has only increased. It amazes me and the teams I work with every time we use it.”
