Performance Data Recorder, or PDR, is currently available in all Corvette models, and Camaros sporting either the 1LE or ZL1 packages. Developed in conjunction with Cosworth, the supplier for Corvette Racing’s telemetry and data recorders, PDR uses a front-facing camera that is mounted in the rearview mirror to capture footage. While you are driving, PDR overlays said footage with a variety of different performance figures depending on which mode the driver is in. There are four of these modes to choose from: Tour, Performance, Sport and Track.
Tour mode utilizes the front facing camera to capture video, however it does not overlay any performance data. According to Chevrolet, this mode is meant for capturing your favorite scenic drives. Performance mode offers the addition of performance metrics, including acceleration figures, a 1/4-mile timer and throttle and brake positioning graphics.
Stepping up to Sport mode again removes some of the performance data, leaving you only with the important information like speed, engine revolutions, gear and lateral g-force. Track mode is more detailed, giving the driver the maximum amount of information: from a track-map to a steering angle graph, Track mode has it all.
Simply insert an SD card into the PDR slot in the glovebox of the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette (or Camaro), and the car’s camera is ready to go. An owner can compare their own recordings against those of their friends and professionals alike, by using the Cosworth Toolbox software, available for download here. This ability to analyze real performance metrics  makes the PDR the best factory offered data recorder around, for the moment.Â
Porsche has decided that they too would like to offer their drivers a performance data system, but not quite like the one on sale in a 2019 Chevrolet Corvette today. Â The team in Stuttgart has paired up with Hyundai to invest $80 million in the Swiss-born company WayRay. Unlike the Cosworth system, the WayRay system aims to display performance data on the windshield in real time, as opposed to viewing the information after a session. Instead of stopping to see how your lap compares to that of your favorite racing driver, you could simply display his car on your windshield as a ghost for you to chase down next lap. Â WayRay also claims there are more possible uses for this style of data recorder that extend past performance cars.
While this technology sounds very exciting, it will be interesting to see how the Porsche purists feel about their windshields looking like the heads-up display from Forza Motorsports, let alone if it makes 2019 Chevrolet Corvette owners envious.
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Cosworth has no iOS or macOS software, clearly out of touch with the times!