There was a time when “Cruisin’ World” was the pinnacle of driving simulation technology. The video game industry has advanced in leaps and bounds from that primitive, but awesome, game title.

One of the most popular driving simulation game lines that almost all gear heads have at least dabbled in is Gran Turismo. Now on its sixth iteration from the original 1997 release, the game is universally known and considered extremely realistic in most gaming circles. We wondered though, would it stack up to a real life lap? With that question posed, we formulated a plan to put Gran Turismo 6 to the test.

The Track

Beginning in Gran Turismo 5, Willow Springs Raceway is an available track in the game. Conveniently, it is only a few hours north from TURNology’s headquarters. The plan was to make a lap around Willow Springs “Big Willow” track in an actual car, then duplicate that lap as accurately as possible on the game.

The test would be performed on Gran Turismo 6 on a PlayStation 3 console. Streets of Willow Springs, another great track on the property is also included in the sixth release of the game.

The Driver

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Formula Drift driver, Michael Essa, handled both the on-track and Gran Turismo segments of our test

For the sake of accuracy, we recruited a professional hot shoe for this test, Formula Drift champion, Michael Essa. In addition to his time spent in the professional drift circuit behind the wheel of his self-built BMW M3, Essa is an accomplished road racer. We met up with him at a SHIFT S3CTOR track day at Willow Springs to get him in a car and out on the track to do his thing.

The Car

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What car could possibly be better for this comparison than a Nissan GTR. The legendary AWD machine is just as revered in the online gaming world as in real life. Some of the same software engines even helped design the GT-R’s performance readout system. And, when SHIFT S3CTOR owner, Jason Huang, offered to let Essa take some laps in his personal GT-R, we were stoked. Sometimes, the stars do align.

Huang’s GT-R is not a bone-stock setup. It has an intake system, turbo back exhaust, ECU reflash, and a set of wheels shod with sticky Toyo Proxes R888 tires. We logged what upgrades the car had, making sure we had sufficient GT6 credits to purchase them in the game and asked ESSA to suit up for his lap.

A Real Lap of Willow Springs

With our GoPro securely fastened to the roof of the GT-R and Essa strapped into the GT-R’s cockpit, he punched the starter button and rolled out into the hot pit. After a few warm up laps to familiarize himself with the car, Essa put his foot in it and blasted off a hot-lap to the tune of 1:30.191. The ambient temperature at that point in the afternoon was a hot, 102 degrees but the car still performed extremely well and Essa managed not to get caught in any lap-traffic during the session. Had the air been a little colder, Essa was confident the car could have delivered about a second better performance.

The Virtual Lap. 

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We set up our simulator in Essa's shop and let him go at it on the PlayStation. We even asked him to wear a helmet for the test. Just a normal day in the office, right?

So with a real-world benchmark of what we needed to achieve in the game. We set up our driving simulator rig in Essa’s shop, in Anaheim California. We purchased a GT-R in the game — though we wish it was real — and all of the necessary upgrade parts, even matching up the power band with Huang’s 540-horsepower chassis dyno results. We selected “sports-soft tires” and hit the track.

After several laps and some time spent in the track runoff gravel, Essa was able to lay down a flawless lap. The result: a time of 1:23.281, a seven-second lead for the game. Is seven seconds a big difference? No, it’s a lifetime. On Willow Springs, 7-seconds is roughly how long it takes to navigate the front straight in a quick car.

To make sure our lightning-quick lap time wasn’t because we over-modded the car, or in case Gran Turismo’s version of power was somewhat optimistic. We loaded up a completely stock GT-R and had Essa run the track again. That was also a no-go as the car routinely dipped into the mid to high 1:20s. Gran Turismo was simply faster all around.

Michael Essa on Gran Turismo. 

After the simulator equipment was packed up, we chatted with Essa about his take on the two, night-and-day experiences: in-car and in-simulator.

TO: Were the top speeds on the game fairly close between Gran Turismo and your actual experience in the GT-R?

ESSA: “We are probably going 10 mph faster on the video game [straightaway speed] I think I was doing like 145 in the game and 130-ish on big willow.”

TO: It was 102 degrees at Willow Springs. Could that have played some part in the lap time difference?

ESSA: “I think I would have gone about a second faster at Big Willow if the weather was better, around 80 degrees.”

I had the car set up with sports hard tires and a standard suspension and it’s still almost 10 seconds faster. If it was a second or two I’d say, ‘OK, this is close,’ but it’s obviously way off. And, I’m sure that someone who plays Gran Turismo a lot could go 3 seconds faster still.”

TO: What about the course? Is it faithful to the real Big Willow?

ESSA: “It is. It is really close. It is a little bit harder since you don’t have any depth perception to find braking points and stuff here but the layout is right on. The bushes are in the same place .. so that’s awesome.

TO: Is there any educational merit to playing the game before a track day if you’ve never driven a course before?

“I think knowing the approximate speeds and how tight the corners are will definitely help. If you already have that in mind before you go out there it would help for sure. This way you are actually the one pushing on the gas and the brakes and doing all the steering work on where you are going to turn in. Just being able to see the track, I think is more helpful than a video. And, it’s pretty amazing for the price.”

Is Gran Turismo a Useful Tool for Driver Education

After conducting this test, we can conclude two things: One, you probably won’t be able to replicate your GT6 lap time in real life; and Two,

If you’ve never driven a particular track, GT6 is an excellent way to familiarize yourself with the layout, turn-in, braking points and scenery. And for a video game that is currently available at Walmart for the bargain cost of $29.99, that’s a pretty damn impressive feat.