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Nismo smartwatch concept tracks both car and driver [w/videos]

Whether you agree or not, this writer believes that every supercar needs a wristwatch to go with it. Though the Nissan GT-R has been lacking in this one regard, Nissan is keen to correct that wrong. But while most of these automotive-inspired timepieces are decidedly mechanical, Nissan has gone a suitably different direction in creating its new Nismo watch concept.
The electronic smartwatch connects driver, car, watch and phone in a sleek design. The device allows drivers to monitor such parameters as the car's average speed and fuel consumption, access performance telematics on the track, monitor their own heart rate and interface with their smartphone via Bluetooth and a dedicated app. The watch can even tell the driver when it's time to bring his car in for scheduled maintenance, post lap times and such to popular social media platforms, and of course, you know - literally give you the time of day.
Though still in the concept phase, Nissan seems keen to bring this to market, has even gone so far as to design the packaging - made of tire rubber scraped off the track - and done it up in three colors: red, white or black. In the meantime Nismo will be showcasing the smartwatch concept at the Frankfurt show this week, where we hope to get a glimpse up close, but you can delve into the press release and the pair of videos below.

Watch a Nissan GT-R make up 17 spots on the first lap

By now, enthusiasts should be plenty used to seeing the Nissan GT-R passing "lesser" vehicles on the road - and let's face it, that accounts for a good 99-percent of other cars out there. But what about on the racetrack, where GT racers are all homologated to the same general specifications and tuned with an eye toward fairer competition?
Turns out Godzilla is just as formidable an adversary on the track, as demonstrated by this latest video. Shot from inside the cabin of British driver Alex Buncombe's GT3 racer during the Blancpain Endurance Series race at Monza, the video shows what happens (or at least happened this time) when a well-driven GT-R is relegated to the back of the grid - even when that grid is populated by the likes of Porsche, Aston Martin, Lamborghini and McLaren.
Buncombe and his teammates in the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN ultimately finished the race in 13th place, but what's remarkable is that they started way back in 32nd, making up 17 places on the first lap alone. Scope out the frenetic action in the video below.

Watch some vintage F1 cars blast up a Japanese mountain road

It's a rare treat to see classic Formula One cars racing anywhere, but watching them on a Japanese mountain road is absolutely sublime. The folks behind Motorhead from Japan took over the toll road's twisting stretch of tarmac to turn this impossible dream into a reality. The unusual opportunity of a closed mountain road would be a waste for only two vehicles, and there were plenty of drivers in amazing machines that wanted to blast up the hill. After the vintage F1 cars got their turn, some drifters in a Nissan GT-R and a Toyota GT86 added some tire smoke to the misty mountain air. A couple more GT-R racecars and some modern sports cars eventually joined them. Before the rain hit, this team had quite a party going on. This video features amazing camera work, but the music unfortunately drowns out the chance to hear these amazing racecars. If watching this leaves you wanting more, Motorhead released a video last year of another group of impressive performance vehicles on the mountain road.