Shift Media

PASSION – Chris Rado

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

One of the marquee names in import drag racing, Chris Rado is the owner of WORLD Racing, a professional drag race, time attack and show circuit team.

In 2005, Rado was the subject of an MTV special called ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ which helped springboard sport-compact cars further into the world of drag racing.

Chris’ current pride and joy is a factory-backed Scion tC that cranks out an almost unbelievable 2,000 horsepower from a 4-cylinder powerplant.

To view the other Driver's Experience Films, simply select driver's image below:

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The Driver's Experience: The Zone

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Zone features three of the drivers (Chris Rado, Tommy Milner, and Vaughn Gittin Jr.) talking about what's it's like to be in the zone. One of my favorite lines from The Zone comes from Tommy Milner:

"If you're in the zone, the only thing that's in your head is basically is just...what you're hearing in the car...what you're feeling from the car."

This is a very cool film! It's interesting to hear Chris, Tommy and JR talk about the zone because when they describe the feeling they get when they're in the zone, they all essentially say the same thing; the car becomes an extension of their body.

To view the other Driver's Experience Films, simply select driver's image below:

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The Driver's Experience: Risk and Consequence

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Risk and Consequence. Every day we make choices based on rick and consequences. Sometimes the choices are relatively simple choices with little risk...sometimes the choices are major choices that require us to seriously think through the risk and consequences.

This film, Risk and Consequences, features three of the drivers (Chris Rado, Tommy Milner, and Vaughn Gittin Jr.) talking about Risks and Consequences on the track.

It's pretty cool to think about what choices drivers must make throughout a race. From the short time it takes to do a single pass in a drift battle to the two hours you're behind the wheel in one stint in a Le Manns race; there are lots of choices to be made.

Do I gear down for this turn or just push through? Should I give a little more throttle and get a bit closer to this guy I'm following even though I'm already going 78MPH sideways? Lots of choices.

To view the other Driver's Experience Films, simply select driver's image below:

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INSTINCT – Tommy Milner

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

At only 23 years old, Tommy Milner already has friends in high places.

Tommy Milner is a driver for the Rahal Letterman Racing’s American Le Mans Series GT2 squad and pilots a BMW M3 coupe for the team bankrolled by racing legend Bobby Rahal and late-night TV icon David Letterman.

The American Le Mans series races can last up to 24 hours, so Tommy has built up a strong drivers’ instinct and a great wealth of experience despite his young age. During the development of Need for Speed SHIFT Tommy was a regular visitor to the office to offer advice about the handling of this year’s cover car.

To view the other Driver's Experience Films, simply select driver's image below:

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FOCUS – Andrea Bertolini

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

“Racing is my life,” says Andrea Bertolini, a two-time drivers’ champion on the GT-1 section of the FIA-GT Championship circuit.

Andrea has an extensive resume in racing. By the tender age of 19 he’d already made racing history by becoming the youngest test driver and was instrumental in the development of a million-dollar supercar, the Maserati MC12, which he races for the Vitaphone racing team.

To view the other Driver's Experience Films, simply select driver's image below:

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AGGRESSION – Vaughn Gittin Jr

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Drifting was first introduced to the Need for Speed world in 2003 with the release of the genre-defining Underground. When it came to putting Drift into SHIFT we worked closely with Team Falken driver Vaughn Gittin Jr. During more than 200 hours of consulting JR frequently passed on his expertise and knowledge offering the key to drifting.

“The trick [with drifting] is to look at the walls,” he said. But don’t look at the wrong walls.”

JR, who is known for his signature car - a hollowed-out Ford Mustang GT painted in the Falken Tire colors – was the first drifter to pilot a non-Japanese-made car to victory in a D1 Grand Prix event.

To view the other Driver's Experience Films, simply select driver's image below:

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Need for Speed is proud to reveal The Driver's Experience

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Need for Speed is proud to reveal The Driver's Experience - a series of films which slam you in the driver's seat and show what it takes to be a professional race driver.

There are six Driver's Experience films to watch. Four of the films focus on a specific driver and a specific attribute of that driver. The other two films focus on the more subtle aspects of driving. Click the images below to access the driver films.

Andrea Bertolini is one of the most fortunate racing drivers in the world as he gets to call the Maserati MC12 his company car. He is currently driving for Vitaphone Racing in the FIA GT Championship.

Chris Rado talks about his passion for racing. With one of the most distinct cars on the racing circuit, the dual-spoilered Scion tC, Rado has made a name for himself on the Time Attack world setting some of the fastest times on record.

JR is one of the most famous names in the Drift world and one of the most popular ones. Recently he's been working closely with the Need for Speed SHIFT team to help replicate the true sensation of Drifting in the new game.

Tommy Milner, driver for the Rahal Letterman Racing team, talks about his experience behind the wheel of the BMW M3 GT2. He offers a great insight to the mind of a racing driver, what it takes to compete and what it takes to win.

Need for Speed™ SHIFT – FEATURES

TRUE DRIVER’S EXPERIENCE
Need for Speed SHIFT is the closest you may get to the experience of driving a Porsche 911 GT-3, and with the True Driver’s Experience, you get the full race treatment.

An active Heads-Up-Display (HUD) mimics the driver’s head movement, G-forces and physics that go into blasting around corners in your dream car.

Put your foot to the floor and you’ll see the depth-of-field shift further out, putting the cockpit out of focus and making your speedster more difficult to control, adding a realistic, simulation feel to the racing engine of SHIFT.

DRIVER PROFILE
How you drive your car is unique to your personality, and it’s the same in SHIFT with the new Driver Profile feature.

In SHIFT, Driver Profile is a real-time tracker of your evolution as a racer. Are you aggressive or precise? The badges you earn, combined with your success rate and profile points all combine to give a full driving experience both solo and online.

How you drive in SHIFT determines how you advance in your racing career, which cars you’re able to unlock and who you race against online. It’s all up to you.

DYNAMIC CRASH EFFECT
If you drive aggressively, eventually you’re going to crash. In SHIFT, art imitates life.

Toss your shiny red Porsche Carrera GT end-over-end and you’ll feel it with the new Dynamic Crash Effect system.

You’ll feel like you’ve taken damage with every flip, fender-bender and head-on collision in SHIFT as your driver is disoriented and briefly shaken up by the sounds of metal twisting and glass shattering.

TOTAL CUSTOMIZATION
We’re not talking fuzzy pink dice. If you want to turn your sport compact into a muscle machine, you can in Need for Speed SHIFT with the total customization system.

Make the car your own inside, outside and under the hood with this comprehensive tool that encourages you to be as creative as you want to. Want to put 21” wheels on your Scion tC? You can do that. How about a whale-tail wing on your Camaro SS? No sweat.

In SHIFT, the only thing keeping your dream car from becoming reality is a lack of imagination.

PHOTO-REAL CARS AND RENDERED TRACKS
Need for Speed SHIFT has 65 of the fastest, most innovative and beautiful cars on the road and tracks today, as well as 18 beautifully-rendered tracks that can be raced more than 50 different ways, including Donington Park and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Sit your driver down in any of the cars in SHIFT and you’ll see how many thousands of hours went into designing the interiors of your favorite car. From the trademark blue-red color mosaic in the Volkswagen GTI’s gages to the swooping arches of the Mazda RX-8s audio system, it’s all there.

Any piece of interior design in your vehicle will be in SHIFT, except the jelly stains on the passenger seat from last week’s donut run.