Infiniti Concept Vision displayed at Gran Turismo® GT Sport Launch.

Displayed alongside seven other full-size concept cars, the largest ever gathering of GT concept vision cars in one place, the vehicle provides a visualisation of what a high performance Infiniti could look like in the future.

The car was developed through close collaboration with the creators of Gran Turismo®, the racing game franchise developed by Polyphony Digital Inc. that has sold more than 72 million copies worldwide. The Infiniti Concept Vision Gran Turismo will be featured in the new GT-Sport game when it is released in November.

The Infiniti Concept Vision Gran Turismo is a project that started as an ambitious global Infiniti Design competition to "design a pure Infiniti GT car". The winning model was born from the theme put forward by Infiniti's Design team in Beijing. Part beauty, part beast, its shape is powerful, sensual and audacious – a mix of a track machine and the dream of our Chinese design team to create an ambitious racing language for Infiniti.

The process of developing the design of the Infiniti Concept Vision Gran Turismo started with hand sketching, then refined digitally, refined again by hand sculpting, and then returned to digital for final refinement.

This project went much further than being a mere design exercise. It included thorough examinations and calculations of technical features such as aerodynamics and engine performance. The front mid-ship/trans-axle powertrain enables the finely distributed 45:55 front/rear weight balance that fills users with the joy of driving by actively drifting the rear.

As for aerodynamics, the under-floor airflow control, front and back diffusers, and uniquely shaped rear spoiler enable this car to demonstrate high performance without compromising the impact of the body design.

USA - Chevrolet launches Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Tursimo (VGT) concept at L.A.

Radical concept developed for racing franchise’s 15th anniversary

Chevrolet today revealed the Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Tursimo (VGT) concept – a revolutionary interpretation of the ultimate race car, developed exclusively for fans of the PlayStation^® 3 racing game, Gran Turismo^® 6.

Developed as part of the Vision Gran Turismo project, which celebrates the future of automotive design and innovation, the Chaparral 2X VGT concept is inspired by the innovative race cars Chaparral Racing and Chevrolet partnered on more than 45 years ago.

Gamers can race the Chaparral 2X VGT this holiday season by downloading an online update for Gran Turismo 6, the latest iteration of the best-selling PlayStation franchise that has sold more than 72 million copies worldwide since its 1998 debut.

“This concept is an audacious and ambitious vision – and one that demonstrates to a new audience how Chevy’s engineering and design teams challenge norms and explore the technologies of tomorrow,” said Clay Dean, executive director of advanced design. “It also an ode to a unique partnership that pioneered ground-breaking technologies that are used today on the track and the street.”

Known for unconventional, boundary-pushing race cars that shook up the motorsports world, Texas-based Chaparral Racing partnered with Chevrolet Research and Development more than 45 years ago, pioneering now-standard methods and materials used in contemporary racing and production vehicles, including the composite monocoque chassis, lightweight-alloy powertrain systems, automatic transmissions for racing and progressive, active aerodynamics. 

The partnership also spawned ground-breaking vehicle data acquisition technology. Chevrolet continues to use racing programs to test and develop new technologies and materials.

The Chevrolet Chaparral 2X VGT channels that spirit of innovation into a vision of what the future of racing could hold, with a radical form and an advanced, laser-based propulsion system.

“It was created in a no-rules atmosphere to challenge designers and test engineers to deliver the most exhilarating sensations. This is a fantasy car by design,” said Frank Saucedo, who oversaw the team that worked on the concept. “Like the original Chaparral race cars decades ago, the Chaparral 2X VGT weaves advanced aerospace technologies into the design to help achieve its performance goals.”

The Chaparral 2X VGT’s concept propulsion system is inspired by technology derived from advanced work targeted at space travel and future aircraft design. It features a mid-mounted laser beamed-energy propulsion system, which pulses beams of light that focus in a shroud, creating shock waves that generate tremendous thrust in the lightweight race car.

With a 671-kW laser, powered by a pack of lithium-ion batteries, and an air-powered generator to provide 900 horsepower worth of thrust, the Chaparral 2X VGT will be capable of a 240-mph top speed in the video game with 0-60 acceleration capability of 1.5 seconds.

The propulsion system’s position in the composite chassis complements an unconventional yet highly active prone driver configuration – face down with the driver’s arms and legs splayed toward the wheels. In fact, the race car’s propulsion and suspension systems are built around the driver, enabling progressive strategies of active and driver-adjustable aerodynamics.

“Think of it as adapting a wing suit to a racing car, where the driver’s movements control certain aspects of the aero package,” said Saucedo. “In many ways, the Chaparral 2X VGT is like racing wing suit, with a protective fuselage for ‘flying’ very low to the ground.” 

The driver-enabled aerodynamics eliminate the need for large, conventional wings and other aero devices used to generate grip-enhancing downforce – an attribute that helps reduce the overall mass of the Chaparral 2X VGT’s minimalist structure. Only essential elements are on board, with instrumentation, for example, projected on the driver’s helmet visor.

Additionally, lightweight chassis components reduce the sprung weight of the race car, enabling the car to provide tremendous cornering grip with a relatively small footprint. It rolls on 17-inch front wheels wrapped with racing tires.

“The Chaparral 2X VGT is a vision of how advanced technology may shape the look and driving experience of racing,” said Saucedo. “Chaparral’s race cars and methods were seen as outlandish four decades ago, and with the innovative spirit still burning at Chevrolet, the Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Turismo concept might just be a harbinger of motorsports in the next four decades.”

Other manufacturers have developed concept race cars for the Vision Gran Turismo project, but Chevrolet is one of the few to transfer it from the digital world to a physical concept vehicle.

The Chevrolet Chaparral 2X VGT concept is on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show through November 30.

VW reveals 503PS Worthersee GTi Concept roadster.

Volkswagen is turning the virtual world into reality this weekend, as it presents the GTI Roadster concept at the famous Woerthersee GTI meeting in Austria. 

The GTI Roadster was originally created as a purely electronic car, to feature in the Sony PlayStation^® 3 classic, Gran Turismo 6 (GT6).  The result of cooperation between Volkswagen and Sony Computer Entertainment, the GTI Roadster is the work of three young Volkswagen designers, winners of an in-house competition to design a vehicle to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of the Gran Turismo game.

Unconstrained by the constraints of production models – for example feasibility and price – designers Malte Hammerbeck, Domen Rucigaj and Guillermo Mignot came up with a winning design that was selected by Klaus Bischoff, Head of Design for the Volkswagen Brand, and Kazunori Yamauchi of Sony Computer Entertainment, the creator of the Gran Turismo series.

The virtual car was unveiled on 26 May, and just days later, Volkswagen is presenting it made real, at the annual gathering of GTI fans on the shores of Woerthersee, which runs from 18-31 May.

The GTI Roadster draws on last year’s Woerthersee car, the Design Vision GTI, but with an even more extreme design.  Its 2,494 mm wheelbase is 137 mm shorter than that of the production Golf GTI, and also shorter than the wheelbase of the Design Vision GTI.  The GTI Roadster’s minimal height (1,090 mm) and extreme width (1,894 mm) versus its overall length (4,158 mm) help create jaw-dropping proportions.

Power for the two-seat GTI Roadster comes from a 3.0-litre V6 biturbo TSI engine that produces 503 PS, and maximum torque of 560 Nm between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm.  Some 500 Nm of torque is available from just 2,000 rpm.  Power is delivered via a seven-speed DSG gearbox and 4MOTION four-wheel drive, helping to propel the 1,420 kg GTI Roadster from zero to 62 mph in just 3.6 seconds, and on to a top speed of 190 mph.  Stopping power is suitably prodigious, thanks to ceramic brakes that nestle behind 8.5 J x 20-inch wheels with 235/35 tyres at the front and 9.5 J x 20-inch wheels with 275/30 tyres at the rear.

The exterior of the car is painted a new colour, called Gran Turismo Red, which is designed to make the GTI Roadster look fast, even when it is standing still.  The interior features black- and anthracite-coloured sections, contrasted by classic GTI red on the stitching and also on the five-point safety harnesses.

While there are no plans for production, players of GT6 will be able to download the virtual GTI Roadster from mid-June.