Video: Stig meets the drone

Some say he controlled it by staring, and that he thought it was a long-lost cousin from the air. All we know is, it’s called… the DooZee Aerial Octocopter Drone. And we think it’s very cool. 

From hovering six feet above sliding cars in the middle of the track, to offering an eagle’s-eye view of drifting Lamborghinis, the mutant hoverfly of the apocalypse took us to places we hadn’t even thought of.

Based on something called the FreeFly CineStar 8 Octocopter, DooZee’s version is modified to fly and to carry a variety of cameras without smashing them to bits. One of the advantages of an eight-bladed ’copter is that a couple of the props can lose power before crashing occurs. Also handy if you’re doing 140mph in an open-topped McLaren and you don’t want a five-foot mechanical mincer falling on your head.

It’s completely official, too: the OctoDrone is actually fully CAA-rated (Civil Aviation Authority) – making it an Identified Flying Object. The pilot, Pete, is rated by the CAA, too, and works in conjunction with camera operator and DooZee boss man Elliott to get to places where a camera wouldn’t usually find itself. The pilot puts the camera in position, the cameraman swivels his motorised rig to get the shots – like driving a car where one works the steering and the other does the pedals.

The Stig was fascinated. Look below to see what happened when he got within transmission range... And head to doozeeaerial.com for more information.