Nissan GT-R honors India's Republic Day with world record

Nissan is celebrating India's 68th Republic Day in a big way. The company unleashed a GT-R of the surface of the dry Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan and created the largest-ever outline of a country. Nissan even made a video showing off the massive scale of this record-setting stunt.

The Sambhar Lake was a perfect surface for creating the map because of the soft surface. Plus, the landscape offered a beautiful backdrop for the film. A vast amount of space was also necessary to draw this outline, and once the GT-R was done creating the outline, the length around the exterior measured an astounding 9.1 miles (14.7 kilometers).

Professional rally driver Rahul Kanthraj was behind the wheel of the GT-R during the run. He followed specific coordinates from a GPS device to make sure he created an accurate outline of India. Kanthraj also did multiple laps so that image was more visible. The video makes this look like a very fun day on the job.

According to Nissan, officials from the Limca Book of Records – an Indian equivalent to the Guinness Book of World Records – were on hand to certify that this was really largest country outline ever. The stunt will be in the 2018 edition of the book next year.

A GT-R previously set a record for the world's fastest drift when one slid at 189.49 miles per hour (304.96 kilometers per hour) at Fujairah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates. The tuning firm Greddy worked with Nissan on the attempt and pushed the coupe's already powerful engine to 1,380-horsepower (1,105 kilowatts).

Nissan just refreshed the GT-R for the 2017 model year. Aerodynamic updates let the coupe slip through the air better. Updates to the biturbo 3.8-liter V6 pushed the output to 565 hp (421 kW) and 467 pound-feet (633 Newton-meters). Inside, the company revised the center stack and reduced the number of switches.