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If you're a fan of realistic driving games likes the Gran Turismo, then you're really going to dig this one. Meet Mercedes-Benz's professional driving simulator that comes with a 360o, precise landscape imagery and a twelve-meter long rail for transverse movements. The driving simulator, however, was not made for racing games but to help the German manufacturer to "research the behavior of the driver and vehicle in road traffic even more intensively".

Shaped like a hexapod, the simulator cell contains a real Mercedes model inside and is mounted on six mobile legs. A 360 degree projection screen simulates a realistic traffic scene, with oncoming vehicles, moving pedestrians and urban surroundings.

The vehicle controls are linked to a computer capable of calculating the behavior of the car more than 1,000 times per second, so whatever the test driver does the effects are the same as in real traffic situations. Accelerate hard and the noise of the car rises. Brake hard and it dives.

I'm not sure what happens when you try to drift, but hydraulics and electric motors can move the cell transversely by up to twelve meters – and at a maximum speed of 36 km/h (22 mph) – so at least double lane-changes can be simulated.

Scroll down to watch a video of grown men playing in the name of science.

By Csaba Daradics

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We were quite impressed with the virtual Red Bull X1 Prototype, the fastest car in the upcoming fifth installment of the Gran Turismo series. This time, Evo Magazine reveals that Red Bull has decided to build a scale model, which will be shown at the GT5 launch party in Madrid, in a few weeks time.

As previously reported, the virtual X1 will feature a twin-turbocharged 3-liter V6 engine, producing 1,483 hp (1,106 kW) and – new piece of information – 526 lb-ft (713 Nm) of torque.

According to Red Bull's older press release, the X1 can reach 60 mph (96 km/h) in a mind-boggling 1.4 seconds, 120 mph (193 km/h) in 2.8 seconds and last but not least, 200 mph (320 km/h) in a mere 6.1 seconds.

Should by any chance the X1 become a reality, an important question arises: who will dare pilot this thing as it can effortlessly generate 8.25 Gs during cornering?

By Csaba Daradics

For those of us living in colder climates, ice can be a real hassle during winter time; scraping rock like formations from your windshield isn't the best thing that can happen to you in freezing temperatures... But the VW Group in association with the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Technology (IST) in Braunschweig, may soon provide drivers a solution to this pesky problem.

Researchers have introduced what they claim to be the first anti-fogging and anti-icing car windscreen. Unlike heated windows, the new glass panes make use of a physical principle that does not allow an ice layer to form in the first place, even at temperatures as low as -18 C or -0.4 F.

The Volkswagen Group says the secret of the innovation lies in a wafer-thin transparent coating of indium tin oxide that is applied to the window and in theory, stops heat from going upwards and prevents or delays cooling of the glass surface to below the dew point.

"We call this a 'Low-E' (low thermal emissivity) coating. Applied to the outer glazing, it prevents heat from radiating skyward. We are proud of this innovation and will promote it throughout the Group. That is because an ice-free window is an added convenience to our customers," explains Thomas Drescher of Volkswagen Development.

"The 'Low-E coating' cannot prevent ice formation or condensation entirely, but it can significantly reduce the likelihood of it happening," Drescher added.

The VW Group says is still has to work around some problems before it offers this technology on production models. One such issue in the current development phase is that new coating interferes with radio transmission impairing radio and mobile phone reception.

"It will take some time before the ice-free car windscreen is market-ready, but we are working intensively toward this goal. The bottom line is that for the Volkswagen Group, the ice-free window represents a successful innovation that is unique worldwide," said Drescher.