OK, we know that culture is awash with all things retro. It seems that anything vaguely ‘eighties’ is acceptable once again. But, from the wackier edges of car and game culture comes this proposal that takes the virtual out of the driving game experience and attempts to combine the real world and OutRun, an arcade driving game released by Sega in 1986 – and one that made an icon out of Ferrari’s Testarossa amongst arcade-hanging preteens of that decade.

The car-shaped sit-down arcade cabinet of OutRun becomes a ride in itself, and you drive it using the modded controls of the videogame. The screen meanwhile, which is in front of the driver, renders the real world as the 1986 video game OutRun. custom-built software and GPS sensors calculate the location of the vehicle and display a map rendered in the style of the video game. In other words the world is made anew, bit-mapped 1986-style.

The software for this project will be developed as an iPhone application, with an iPhone 3G inside of the cabinet-car system displaying video on the ” monitor. Development of the OutRun GPS rendering application on iPhone 3G hardware will also enable the application to be released to the general public to use the software on their iPhones while driving or walking.

Let’s just hope that Wham and A-HA don’t make the soundtrack.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Citroen came to London last week to show off their GT concept which had been designed for the new Grand Turismo ‘street circuit’ featured in Gran Turismo 5 – the new PLAYSTATION 3 driving game.

The virtual-turned-reality supercar ‘swapped pixels for Piccadilly’ as put lovingly by the Citroen Press Office, as it swept through the world famous circus, toured Regent Street, rounded Trafalgar Square and cruised down the Mall past Buckingham Palace.

The result of a partnership between Citroën and Sony Computer Entertainment, the GT by CITROËN concept measures nearly five metres long and just over a metre high with a wire-frame design featuring rear air-diffuser, horizontal LED headlamps, gull wing doors and diamond-effect 21s.

The cabin offers “a refined racing experience” with copper, steel and black leather finishes combined with hi-tech racing controls.

Now, according to reports in the mainstream motoring press Citroen has decided to put the GT supercar concept into limited production.

The project was believed to have been given the green light last week by the company’s product boss Vincent Besson. Only six Citroen GTs will be made, and rumour has it that the car will cost around £1.1 million pounds.

Virtual reality has begun to play more and more into the hands of the real-time engineers of existence.

Shame the stratospheric price tag makes it about as likely that you will drive the GT as you will upload yourself into the Playstation and win Gran Turismo in a 512 BB.