The need for speed (and destruction)

Want the thrills of speeding without the risk of a lifetime driving ban? Buyacar recommends a spin in the metal of the virtual world instead.

Every taste is catered for by the racing games on PC and consoles.

At one extreme you have the hard-nosed sims such as SimBin's hugely realistic GTR series. On the other the destructive thrills of recent release, Split/Second which sees you triggering explosions and demolishing buildings as your car races round the track.

The two arch rivals of the VR world though are Gran Turismo and the Forza series, on the PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively.

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue offers a taster of the epic Gran Turismo 5, released in November this year. Forza 3 has a dazzling selection of cars to race around various real and fictional courses. You can enter a mass of tournaments and tinker with the set-up of your car at will.

For those with more purely arcade tastes, Project Gotham Racing 4 on the Xbox 360 offers a great balance between simulation and arcade fun, power-sliding through the streets of London and Tokyo.

Wannabe Ken Blocks and rally fans can indulge themselves in Dirt 2, the game series dedicated to off-roading. Split/Second and the urbane Burnout Paradise meanwhile cater for those who like their driving thrills hyper-real.

For pure entertainment, Mario Kart Wii offers almost perfect family racing fun. Underneath the cartoon graphics however the game is ultra-compelling with a host of classic competitive gameplay features designed to culture the inevitable family feud.

The huge appeal of driving games isn't lost on car manufacturers of course. It's a savvy way to promote a product and engage with potential buyers of new cars in the future.

This means attracting future customers not yet able to drive but who will one day be in the market for a car.

In some ways videogames are the perfect showroom. In many games you can walk round the entire car in HD, inspecting and even checking out an individual model's fully-specced interiors too!

The incoming Gran Turismo 5 for example features 1000 cars. 200 of these are 'premium cars', featuring some obsessive attention-to-detail. Interiors are so close to the original car that you can even scrutinise the driver seat stitching; viewing the exterior reveals individual screws and accurately modelled undersides.

But the car industry won't stop at just endorsing console games. iPhone's Apps have become valuable promotional tools for companies such as Audi and VW.

Both have free Apps that let gamers try their latest cars. Vehicles featured recently include the Audi's A1 and A4 as well as VW's Scirocco and Polo.

Most interestingly perhaps is how videogame innovation is impacting on car manufacture.

Polyphony Digital, the makers of Gran Turismo, were given responsibility for designing the user interface for the Nissan GT-R's multifunctional display.

And with the two industries working so closely together, expect to see further collaborations in the future. Reality will cross wires with the virtual as manufacturers continue to push for the most dynamic driving experience.