Now that the 2014 International CES is officially winding down, our sister site Gotta Be Mobile has announced their Best of CES awards. In the Auto Tech category, Chevrolet’s Performance Data Recorder (PDR) takes top honors for several reasons. Factory installation and warranty, ease of use, and access to crew chief levels of performance data. We were able to deliver the trophy to the Chevrolet and Cosworth team at the show, and ask them a few more questions about the product.
The Corvette PDR, developed with Cosworth, won Gotta Be Mobile’s Best Auto Tech award for 2014.
Cosworth is a racing company that helps the Corvette Racing team analyze data and help them better understand what the car is doing on the track. They have worked with Chevrolet to bring their recording devices to a production Corvette. The system has a 720p HD camera mounted in the headliner to visually record lap data, and then an extra-sensitive on-board GPS and accelerometer record the quantitative data of the lap.
The video and data is stored on a SD card in the glove box for easy export to a computer. The driver can also immediately view the lap video on the navigation screen inside the Corvette.
The PDR software will add graphics overtop the video showing lap and telematic data.
Cosworth is also providing software to help the driver compare lap information and view all the performance data. According to Cosworth, a large percentage of Corvette drivers go to a track day at least once a year, so this product was a natural progression for them.
We really like the data that’s recorded, the ease of making a really good looking video with map overlays, and the attempt by General Motors to make the Corvette a serious sports car contender worldwide. Many people will attach GoPro cameras to record laps, have to worry about battery charge, and might not get the best angles. Then there is the process of editing and uploading the video to share. The PDR removes many of those steps from the process. It’s easy to use, comprehensive, and allows normal people to have access to Cosworth-level data. That is a win in our books.
The PDR will be available on the 2015 model year Corvette, but pricing has not been announced. We look forward to going more in-dept with this technology later in the year.