The Play Station Gran Turismo series turned 15 last year and the anniversary was marked with a challenge to the world’s leading automotive manufacturers and design studios: look forward into the future. Using the theme “Vision Gran Turismo”, the creative teams were tasked with developing concept models that “give a unique insight into the further development of the automobile”. As virtual vehicles that also function like a real car, the visionary concepts will be gradually unveiled in and integrated into the new game Gran Turismo 6 through online updates.
At Mercedes-Benz, designers developed the AMG Vision Gran Turismo, featuring “extreme proportions, sensual contours and intelligently implemented high tech blend to form a body that visually brings to life the breathtaking performance of 430 kW (585 hp) and 800 Nm of torque”. A 1:1-scale model, the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo celebrated its world premiere in November at the opening of the new Mercedes Benz Research & Development Centre in Sunnyvale (California).
The super sports car, with its hallmark Mercedes gullwing doors, was due to take to the virtual racetrack when the new game went on sale in December, as the first of the “Vision Gran Turismo” series. According to Gorden Wagener, vice president of design for Daimler AG, “The sports car proportions that are a typical Mercedes feature have been reinterpreted: the long bonnet has a flowing transition into a compact greenhouse offset to the rear, which takes the form of an aerodynamically efficient water drop todescend slightly at the rear, where it rests on the rear end with broad shoulder contours. The dynamic aura is accentuated by an extended, dramatic side contour and a pronounced bulge to the wheel arches, which blend into the low-slung, muscular bodyshell… The red-glowing contour lines on the lower part of the vehicle create an effect similar to that of exterior ambient lighting and stand out from the silver-painted bodywork. “This makes the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo look even more aggressive.”
Another eye-catching feature is the radiator grille – a reinterpretation of the wide Mercedes-Benz sports car grille with central star. Its shape is reminiscent of the 300 SL racing car of 1952 but, instead of classic louvers, the grille of the show car features exclusively LEDs. The interior of the two-seater has been inspired by a Formula 1 cockpit, with the red integral sports seats blending into the black flooring of the footwell to form a protective shell. The central display is optimally positioned in the driver’s field of vision, taking the form of a glass surface floating directly above the racing steering wheel with its shift paddles, and shows all the relevant information such as road speed, engine speed and operating temperature as required.
Operation is by rocker switches in the centre of the dashboard and in an overhead console, like in a jet. The steering column visibly penetrates the firewall to the engine compartment, creating a visual connection between the driver and the AMG V8 front-mid engine. For fans of Gran Turismo 6, the Mercedes-AMG sound specialists created “a powerful, sonorous exhaust note that authentically celebrates the V8’s love of high engine speeds”.
