Car guys and video games mesh like yin and yang, and many car love affair stories developed with a controller in hand. So, with that in mind, I dedicated some time to immerse myself in the vibrant, fictional world of Night City.
On this LED adventure, I travel to a utopian, futuristic setting overflowing with biotech, cyberpsychosis, and advanced technological criminality. But that’s not why I switched on the console. I’m here for the cars. Specifically the ones that combine modern technology with classic design, adding to Cyberpunk 2077’s charm. So, with that, good morning, Night City.
To begin, and as a disclaimer, Cyberpunk 2077 gets little praise from me on the vehicle-dynamics front. It’s about as close to real-life driving as early AI image generations are to actual photography, but it’s the vehicle design, the retro-futurist theme, that hits closer to home.
And once you’ve stopped moaning about the handling, the real hook becomes evident. It is, of course, the tech. Here’s what Cyberpunk 2077 imagines for cars – and what it might mean for us in the not-too-distant future.
Tech from 2077
So, what’s the point here? I like to think of this game as a crystal ball of sorts. Where is vehicle tech headed? If the developers from Cyberpunk have any say in where we’re headed, cars of the future will no longer have traditional windscreens. Instead, they rely on displays that serve the same purpose by live-streaming visual information onto an interior screen while providing a stronger protective barrier between occupants and the outside world. It makes sense given the violent and unpredictable streets the hated corpos, or rich people, need to navigate.
Although this in-game feature appears far from present reality, tech such as Smart Glass, which changes the windscreen opacity, augmented reality technology, which can overlay real-time data onto the windscreen, and HUDs provide a simplified version of the game’s windscreen tech. That said, this technology is still some ways off the metal, bullet-resistant protection we find in-game.
Cyberpunk does have autonomous driving in the form of the AI concierge Delamain, adding a sense of personality to the growing rollout of self-driving taxis in the real world. But Cyberpunk cars are, for the most part, still cars. They have similar interior designs to reality, petrol-power and EV-power solutions remain the norm, and there’s a greater presence of ambient lighting within, which mirrors our current automotive trends.
Handling? There isn’t much to write home about. Most cars feel broadly the same, with little physics-based accuracy. That could mimic the feel of universal platforms (think Stellantis’ shared architectures), but to me it more closely corresponds to how many EVs deliver a similar driving character. Heavy in corners, rapid but uninspiring acceleration, and little to no noise. This made me wonder: do cars have soul because of handling or performance? Possibly a balance of both, if the numb driving sensation in Cyberpunk 2077 is anything to go by. But that’s beside the point.
The Rides
For the most part, the cars navigating Night City are unrelated to real car models, with all of them pushing a strong retro-modern design aesthetic. They use silhouettes of classic ’70s and ’80s models with a futurist appearance, which fits the modern resto-modding trend. It’s clear that classic car design is making a return, and Cyberpunk portrays this with a somewhat far-future approach. There are a few models whose designs go beyond just the shape. The first is the Thorton Galena, which is instantly recognisable as a Citi Golf. It’s the car of choice for several gangsters within the Night City world and feels close to home, especially for us Saffas.
The Porsche 911 Turbo (930) was the second car to pleasantly surprise me during my playthrough. Yes, that’s an actual car. In fact, this is the car that inspired this story. It’s real, and the attention to detail on this model in the game is impressive. As it turns out, the design team at CD Projekt Red didn’t want the hassles of licensing names and models, but they had a particular liking for the original 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo and decided to include it in a future some 103 years down the line. They liked it so much that they approached Porsche to obtain the necessary licensing to include this car in the game.
The car is closely linked to one of the lead characters in the game, Johnny Silverhand, who is a self-proclaimed freedom fighter. He is a legend in Night City, largely driving the narrative, and the team required a vehicle that matched his attitude and charisma. Naturally, Porsche enjoyed the spotlight being solely on them, and to celebrate the brand’s collaboration with the game, it marked the collaboration with a Turbo given a touch of futurism in the real world.
The Future through a Creative Retro Lens
Throughout my time behind the wheel of Night City’s fastest vehicles, I couldn’t help but sit back and soak in this well-thought-out yet abstract interpretation of the future of motoring. One brand kept coming to mind: Jaguar and its new design language.
It’s seen its share of media scrutiny over the past year, and I can’t shake the feeling that their newest model, the Type-00, is Cyberpunk through and through. Especially compared to the game’s luxury saloons like the Chevillon Thrax 388 Jefferson and the Villefort Alvarado V4F 570 Delegate. Its simple design, huge dimensions, and unique retro-futuristic styling would fit the streets of Night City like a glove. So maybe Jaguar’s Type-00 is just a few decades ahead of its time? Who knows?
It’s clear that Cyberpunk’s design language is modernised-retro, which is actually called ‘high tech, low life’. What this means is almost everything is tech-heavy and futuristic yet familiarly old in appearance. You can glimpse a Ferrari 512 TR in the Quadra Turbo-R and a Dodge Charger R/T in the Quadra Type-66. Both are subtly executed but add a distinct atmosphere to the pixel world.
Yes, it’s far from a physics-accurate experience – unlike a dedicated racing sim – but it shows how cars shape the vibe of open-world games, especially one as captivating as Cyberpunk 2077.
But this is only the start of TGSA’s gaming adventure, and there are many games yet to be unpacked by our team. So let us know what games you would like reviewed by real petrolheads, from simulators to arcade games, open-world stories to horror games. If you can drive in it, we want to play it. The digital test awaits.
