As a member of Framestore’s VR Team in 2018, I had the opportunity to work on one of the most exciting—and uniquely fun—projects of my career: the VW Touareg Hyper Reality Test Drive for Volkswagen Group China Import. Guests would slide into the front passenger seat of a real Touareg on an actual stunt track, don a custom Oculus VR headset, and then experience a perfectly synchronized virtual chase through a futuristic city under alien attack. They’d feel every turn, bump and G-force of the real car, while the world outside transformed into other-worldly landscapes that highlighted the Touareg’s cutting-edge features.

Seated as a passenger on a football-pitch-sized course, each of six vehicles was linked via a custom trigger network to the Unreal Engine simulation—so every acceleration, swerve, and environmental effect stayed in perfect lockstep. Framestore scripted the adventure as a four-act hero’s journey, with our Art Department crafting concept art for three stylized off-world environments and their inhabitants. As extraterrestrial forces pursued the Touareg, its on-board systems—like adaptive cruise control and terrain response—became the story’s heroic touchpoints, each one showcased through spectacular 4D effects: motion-seat rumble, wind blasts, and synced tactile events.

Read more about the project here on Framestore’s website.