A Pepsi ad purporting to show Nascar driver Jeff Gordon taking an unsuspecting car salesman on a terrifying test drive in a Chevrolet Camaro has been revealed as a fake.

But the soft drink company has achieved its aim for creating a "viral" clip with it having registered over seven million hits on YouTube in just a few days this week.

Motoring website Jalopnik.com discovered the company's ruse a day after the clip's release, initially identifying the Chevrolet Camaro's interior and exterior shots didn't match the claimed car's production year.

The website then pointed out other discrepancies, claiming the "salesman" was actually an actor and yesterday Pepsi came clean, admitting that they used a stunt driver and not an "in disguise" Jeff Gordon. Pepsi still maintain the actor/salesman's reactions were totally "100 per cent authentic".

At the end of the day, the clip is simply entertainment and is a bit of good fun to watch.

You can read all about Jalopnik's revelations by clicking here.

- © Fairfax NZ News