We’re driving Cupra Urban Rebel Racing… in a virtual Barcelona in 2050

CWe laughed because we tried everything….but Cobra He showed us that this is not the case. For the first time we were able to experience a An unprecedented experience at any Physical and virtual reality, but not statically, but in motion. In reality, Behind the wheel of a race car.

We explain ourselves. The Spanish sports brand invited us to Exponential Cobra ExperienceIt is a unique activity in which two techniques are combined. In terms of the content in Rebellious urban Cobra racing conceptAmazing Electric model Which we have already tested as co-pilots, with up to 430 hp and which will give life in the future (from 2025) to the urban electric cars of the main brands of the Volkswagen Group. This can go perfectly with Electric Rallycross World Cup.

The Exponential Cobra Experience: Fact and Fiction Together

On the other hand… the most exciting. The shift in the environment we were to experience it in, which was an empty (except for the menacing presence of several street lamps) parking lot of the city Girona Airportin Virtual stage: An urban race track built on Barcelona in 2050.

To make this possible, some Virtual reality glasses With a system behind it so powerful that it was able to “convince” our brain that we had taken a leap in time towards the city of the future. “If you turn the car and the picture doesn’t show you that turn in less than three hundred, you will get dizzy.. Your brain will detect this latency and you will not enjoy driving. But current technology already allows us to achieve this.” Jordi Gini, official Cobra driver And “Master of Ceremonies” on my driving test.

As soon as possible Dizziness -Which I must say I thought about-, it remains for memorization Another obstacle: the obstacle of faith. Because when you put on your glasses and headphones to listen to Jordi Jenny’s instructions, you are truly immersed in a parallel world. You can’t see the asphalt, nor the parking space signs… nor the street lights. (Though they’re still there, of course): “Calm down, GPS is calibrated with a margin of just five centimetres. The route layout does not pass near them and there Redundant security systems “It can, if necessary, stop the car autonomously,” the Catalan co-pilot explains to me.

Welcome to the Metaverse… in full force

So… There are no more reasons not to have fun Most similar to Metaverse that we have seen so far. And here we are on the starting line ready to do four fast laps of something like this A mix of Las Vegas and Barcelona.

The virtual asphalt was perfect, but the real asphalt… still retained some of the day and night moisture Urban rebels It’s still a race car, sensitive to grip conditions. next to… Virtual reality won’t make us better pilots By magic (except it’s the perfect road for us, as if it were Gran Turismo) so it’s about time Putting all five senses into competition. This does not change reality or “fiction”.

It was the starting line A purple visual “curtain” bearing the giant Cobra logo. Everything is very nice Player. The traffic light is green and we can now cross it and Enter a universe that will challenge our driving skills…and our doubts about the technology we were testing.

Not even a hint of dizziness was confirmed. Everything around us is happening completely in real time and with amazing nature.. As is the case every time you get behind the wheel of a race car, your eyes look beyond the next corner… and so you pass through Virtual reality glasses. On several occasions, the car skidded, and we also had to do a little (or maybe not so little) reverse steering…and everything was very normal from the start. Metaverse Which we were in. We weren’t where we appeared, but everything else was surprisingly normal.

First sample of The possibilities of this type of technology We discover it when we appreciate it The environment changes from the first two cycles to the last two cycles. The buildings are different: While driving, we didn’t notice it much, but we had time to appreciate it from the corner of our eyes. For example, We were surprised by the sudden appearance of a ball similar to the one in Las Vegas. It also gave us time to get to know some of Barcelona’s emblematic buildings, e.g “villa hotel”.

After 2 minutes and 18 seconds (a pretty good time according to what Jordi told me when I finished) We have successfully accomplished our mission. Jenny was not surprised to see our smiles on our faces and our disbelief at the virtual experience we were having. This is certainly the same reaction expressed by all of us who have led urban insurgents. now, When we take off our glasses, the street lights reappear..which completely disappeared from my mind

Future possibilities

Returning to reality, logical questions arise. What possibilities does this hold for the future? Will we be able to enjoy it somehow? The response that comes from Cobra At the moment, there are different options open: “We can Create competition Where, for example, a professional driver and an amateur form a team and compete against similar others, even if… Every driver is in a different place on the planet“.

It sounds good, but it’s even better if we go further: “It’s technically possible Viewers Who are watching the race in flow Can “Influencing” them directlyOr placing obstacles in the way, or preferring one path over another.” The possibilities seem endless.

But Cobra A Car maker There are other options to explore this technology on a street car, e.g Entertainment element Why Each journey takes place through a unique world…