The Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo is a virtual monument

Ferrari has revealed its first bespoke concept car for the virtual world of Gran Turismo. Revealed at Gran Turismo’s world series racing event in Monaco, the virtual racing car is just one in a series of bespoke cars designed for the racing game, and is Ferrari’s first. While it may be a purely creative exercise, Ferrari says that the Vision concept is a manifesto of its future design direction, giving us a glimpse into what the Italian icon has in store. 

The Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo concept itself is a closed-wheel single seater race car powered by the same turbocharged 3-litre V6 engine as is found in its new Le Mans Hypercar contender, the 499P. To this, Ferrari has built on the race car’s hybrid powertrain element by including no less than three electric motors, combining an F1-like MGU-K unit with the combustion engine, with a further two motors mounted on the front axle. Power is directed to the rear wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, with the front two motors driving the front axle directly.

Ferrari has revealed performance figures that will only be experienced virtually within Gran Turismo 7, with a total of 1015bhp produced at 9000rpm from the combustion engine plus a supplementary 321bhp coming from its three electric motors. In the racing game, it’ll mean a top speed of over 217mph, a 0-100kmph time of under 2sec, 0-200kmph time of under 5ec and a lap time around Ferrari’s Fiorano circuit simulated at under 1min 10sec. Being a simulated racer, there’s also a prospective 1250kg kerb weight, with a weight balance of 43.5:56.5 front to rear.

Yet it’s the Vision Gran Turismo’s design that tells us more about Ferrari’s future, with Flavio Manzoni and his team at Ferrari Centro Stile creating a design that looks forward, while referencing the sports car racers of the 1960s and ‘70s. Ferrari says that its Vision concept has been inspired by the 330 P3, with the canopy-like glazing and bulbous wheel arches capturing the most eloquent features of its hand-built period racers. The wedge-shaped form within the racing elements, red stripes and horizontal headlight strips also bring into mind the Pininfarina-designed 512S Modulo concept from 1970.

What elements will we see on future Ferrari road and race cars? Some of these are already visible on Ferrari’s new 499P Le Mans Hypercar. The razor-sharp rear light bar that’s drawn from the bodywork’s split line is an element shared between racer and concept that we expect to see imagined in Ferrari’s future model line up. The Vision Gran Turismo also features a reimagination of some retro design trademarks such as the horizontal slats that Ferrari’s already applied to road-going models like the SP3 Daytona. 

The Vision Gran Turismo concept will soon be included in the PS4/5 title in a coming update, where anyone will be able to drive the concept on all the world’s most auspicious racing circuits.