In-Car Camera System - Caught On Camera

In-car cameras are nothing new. We all know them as those video-recording systems lashed to the rollcages of race cars, capturing everything from well-apexed turns at Laguna Seca to 360-degree views of Road America during a spin.

Until recently, such systems were more or less permanently mounted equipment. But a collaboration between Specter Werkes/Sports and CruiseCam International has fundamentally changed the status quo in the realm of in-car video recording. CruiseCam patented an ingeniously simple system that takes advantage of the latest in digital-recording technology. The result is a removable camera that requires neither permanent mounting nor hard-wiring modifications.

In a nutshell, the camera slips over the headrest of the driver seat and is controlled from a drop-in panel that's placed in the center console. The implications are tremendous, as the new system allows enthusiasts of all types to enjoy the benefits of a recorded driving session. And without the need for permanent mounting, it offers a more palatable alternative for Vette owners who participate in limited club events or simply want to record a blast down a favorite winding stretch of mountain road.

The system is derived from a stillborn OEM project that would have supplied headrest-mounted cameras to police cars at the factory. After CruiseCam's Scott Watkins discussed the system with fellow racer and Specter founder Jeff Nowicki, the "civilian" possibilities became undeniably apparent.

Here are the basics on the equipment:

The system offers low, medium, and high resolution adjustment and-depending on the recorded resolution and the storage capacity of the memory stick-up to four hours of recording time.

The only aspect of the installation that comes close to involving tools is a two-bolt procedure required to secure the camera system to the headrest. After that, the system plugs into the console's power point (on C6 cars) and uses cell-phone-type batteries to power a display screen.

As a Corvette specialist, Specter Werkes/Sports was charged with integrating the CruiseCam system into the C5 and C6 headrests and center consoles. The companies will jointly market these Corvette-specific systems and sell them to their respective customers. (Thanks to the universality of the core components, CruiseCam plans to develop additional systems for racing seats and other vehicles as well.)

We recently installed one of these systems on a C6 and followed it up with a romp through Detroit's famously potholed streets. The recorded images were wide, detailed, and remarkably sharp. In fact, we were surprised at how free of shakes, bounces, and general unsteadiness the video was. (As it turns out, the seat makes an excellent vibration damper.) We also liked the removable handheld recorder with LCD display, which allowed the video to be viewed immediately and even passed around to others. The memory stick simply plugs into a computer for complete downloading.

Final pricing information wasn't available at press time, but we get the impression the camera system will retail somewhere in the $1,000 neighborhood. For that sum, we suspect many enthusiasts will take advantage of the system's ability to record an entire road race, autocross run, or drag race. We suppose it also could be used to capture certain impromptu speed contests between, say, your new Z06 and that smug jerk from the gym and his pesky Viper-but that is, uh, something we would never condone.