Ferrari is one of the few supercar makers that hadn’t unveiled a concept for the Gran Turismo video game, but this changed today. During the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Sony’s gaming series in the GT World Finals at Monaco, Ferrari revealed is own Vision Gran Turismo concept in both full-scale prototype and digital forms, boasting a stunning low-slung body, a single-seater layout, and a V6-based hybrid setup bringing monstrous power and torque figures.
Starting with the design, the Ferrari
Vision Gran Turismo looks wilder than anything we have seen from Maranello,
including the recently revealed 499P endurance racer. This is due to the fact
that as a vehicle created to be enjoyed in a video game, the designers didn’t
have the same limitations as in real-life automobiles, allowing extreme
proportions.
The fenders protrude from the heavily
sculpted body creating beautiful curves while contrasting with the sharp nose
and tail, both sporting ultra-slim LED lighting units. Ground clearance is
close to zero, with the massive splitter at the front, the fins on the side
sills, and the rear diffuser almost touching the tarmac. Other interesting
details are the huge vents on the sides, and the large rear wing connected to
the roof through a semi-transparent central fin. Finally, the wraparound
windshield covers the single-seater layout with a central driving position. The
interior design is minimal, with a yoke steering wheel integrating a screen and
a transparent dashboard.
The hypercar is a creation of the Ferrari
Centro Stile, headed by Flavio Manzoni, taking inspiration from iconic racers
of the past including the 330 P3 and the 512 S. According to the official press
release, the Vision GT is a “futuristic design manifesto for Ferrari’s road and
racing cars” and “redefines the company’s stylistic language”. This likely
means that some of its styling cues could be interpreted in future production
models and hopefully in the next flagship.
Unlike other Vision GT concepts from Porsche
or Jaguar that use fully electric powertrains, Ferrari opted for a hybrid
layout that is closer to the one used by its production models – although
significantly more powerful. The mid-mounted twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 from the
296 GTB has been tuned to produce 1,016 hp and 900 Nm of torque, being free from any regulations. Additionally, there is
another 322 hp from a trio of electric motors positioned in
each of the front wheels and at the rear axle. Ferrari says that the combined
torque from the hybrid system on the rear axle alone is 1,100 Nm.
Thanks to F1-derived technology, the battery has enough juice for maximum
performance at all times.
Power from the engine is transmitted
through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, while the addition of the
electric motors offers AWD. Maranello estimates that such a powerful machine
can accelerate from 0-100 km in less than 2 seconds, from 0-200 km/h in under 5 seconds, and reach a top speed of over 350 km/h. The carbon fiber chassis and the elasto-kinematic suspension setup make
sure that the handling is on par with the looks. Thus, Ferrari estimates a
Fiorano lap time of under 1:10 minutes for the Vision GT. For comparison, the
flagship SF90 Stradale did it in 1:19 minutes. Besides the extra power and the
racecar characteristics, one reason for this difference is that the Vision GT’s
dry weight is 1,250 kg, much lower than the 1,570 kg of the SF90. The full-scale prototype of the Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo
concept will be on display at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello until March 2023.
Those with a Playstation gaming console will be able to drive it in Gran
Turismo 7 starting from December 23 – just in time for holiday season gaming
nights.


