Vauxhall Corsa on target to set Guinness World Record
To celebrate the launch of the fourth generation Vauxhall Corsa an early prototype car is being used to achieve the Guinness World Records' title for the largest GPS drawing.
The image is being generated by Jeremy Wood, one of the pioneers of GPS-art, but will have the final flourishes applied by motoring journalists as they test the New Corsa for the first time during a UK-wide launch organised by Vauxhall this month.
On completion, Vauxhall aims to have achieved the world record for the Largest GPS Drawing. They will need to drive more than 4,451 miles to beat the current record holder.
The Corsa will also visit most of Britain's towns and cities as part of an epic, month-long endurance drive that will cover over 7,000 miles of the UK's mainland.
When the final image is revealed at the end of October, it will stretch from Scotland to the South Coast of England. Vauxhall has also hinted that the drawing will have particular relevance to the day on which it goes live.
GPS-art combines drawing, travelling and technology to create art-work on a very large scale. GPS receivers determine the artist's position by trilateration of microwave signals from satellites orbiting at 12,500 miles altitude. Tracks of a journey are recorded in the GPS receiver's memory via a transponder (which in this case is fitted to the Corsa's roof) and can then be downloaded.
Simon Hucknall, PR Manager for Vauxhall Product & Heritage, said: "Corsas can be found in every village, town and city around the UK, so we wanted to visit as many locations as possible during the record attempt to raise awareness of the new car. We also wanted to create a truly unifying image using modern technology, which squared well with the level of innovation in the new car."
He added: "Guinness World Records is excited that we're already close to breaking the record, and if we do, our car and GPS artist will have covered in a month what many motorists drive in a year."
GPS artist, Jeremy Wood, has been creating 'digital marks' on water, over-land and in the air for more than a decade. His work is exhibited internationally and is in the permanent collection of London Transport Museum, the V&A and University of Arts in London.
by: Rebecca Chaplin