Driving is quite a challenge, even when you have both hands on the wheel and your head on the swivel. But what happens when you switch perspectives like in a video game? Driving has become more difficult, all of which are fully featured in the new version
Youtube Videos.
The publication takes its tech team to the race track for a unique challenge – driving a BMW X4 M in third person view. This SUV has an external camera facing the roof of the vehicle, creating a video game-like viewing experience. At the same time, the driver wears a VR headset featuring a camera view. It is attached to a high mast at the rear of the SUV. Contestants are tasked with navigating low-speed obstacles and doing so while answering questions about publications and mundane matters such as which moon has 28 days and which planet is closest to the sun.
63 Photo
The third person view creates a huge disconnect between the driver and the vehicle. It must be weird to feel the SUV roll from side to side but have no visual indication of the movement. Driving from a third-person view in video games is much more manageable, but games are designed to smooth out that disconnect.
The contestants smashed four cones, and the crew lost three GoPro cameras. They also nearly lost the cameraman when one of the contestants slid to the finish line too fast, lost the parking box and nearly hit the cameraman, who had to get out of the way to prevent the SUV from crashing into them.
BMW doesn’t get the chance to use all of its powerful powertrain potential in a third-person driving challenge. The hurdles and nature of the challenge keep speed to a minimum, leaving the 3.0-liter inline-six twin-turbocharged SUV engine with little to do. It produces 503 horsepower (375 kilowatts) and 479 pound-feet (649 Newton-meters) of torque, and you’ll have to watch another video to see it in action. All-wheel drive is standard on SUVs, but it’s not a feature contestants have to use often.
