Have You Tested it Virtually Yet? Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo
In case you missed it, Ferrari unveiled its first concept car created specifically for the Gran Turismo video game series late last year, with the supercar maker saying there's even a true-to-life scale version at its Maranello Museum, where it will be showcased until March – in case you don't have travel plans yet.
Sure, it is, rather unimaginatively, named the Vision Gran Turismo (we didn't see that coming), as is the custom with this kettle of car. While the name lacks some pizazz, it's undoubtedly a digital dream come true for millions of gamers and something for Ferrari fans to get excited about.
The Vision Gran Turismo, which takes the lion's share of its inspiration from the 60s and 70s Sports Prototypes from Maranello, aims to evoke the same hand-clasping emotion these 24 Hours of Le Mans prodigies did back in the day by combining both classic and modern elements of Ferrari's design language. The result speaks for itself; it's a breathtakingly beautiful car, albeit in a virtual space.
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It is ready and waiting to be driven by simmers, with several reviews being, for the most part, exceptionally positive. We also sneaked a peek of its on-track capabilities and while it goes like the clappers and sticks to the track surface with a tenacious attitude, some simmers have complained, citing something along the lines of "it's an unrealistic endeavour by these companies and that they refuse to drive it." Be that on your conscious because we may very well be catching a glimpse into the crystal ball of what we can expect for the future of Ferrari. All while using an extension of its 'existing tech'.
If you haven't driven it on your sim yet, here's an overview of what goes on underneath its micro-pixel persona. It's powered by the same 120-degree inclined 3.0-litre V6 turbocharged engine that's found in the 296 GTB without the real-world restrictions (and reliability concerns) that's paired with really stretching the legs of the engine's capability. Want to know what Ferrari reckons this engine can do on paper? No less than 758 kW and a spine-damaging 900 Nm of torque. That's just the ICE engine, though. Paired with it is a triple-electric motor setup that can deliver an additional 240 kW. It's curious that the combined power output is just short of 1,000 kW at 998. Is that stretching it into the realm of the unbelievable?
In any case, what this means for the digital spheres is a 0-100 km/h sprint of just 2.0 secs while overcoming pixelated physics on its way to 200 km/h takes only five seconds. Ferrari claims that it can do more than 350 km/h, so we'll wager it safe at 351 as the gearbox pedals on rigs everywhere totters through the 8-speed gear range from the F1 dual-clutch gearbox.
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While it remains to be seen if this will be the new and all-conquering Suzuki Escudo (true die-hard Gran Turismo fans will get the reference), we suspect Ferrari's claims might not be all that outlandish. With the ever-progressing rate of racing simulators, it's not just a matter of digitally rendering a car and plugging in a pipe dream. Sim racers demand a high level of realism, and with the ever-evolving physics engines that power these sims, chances are the Ferrari's performance is based on real-world-adjacent case studies of what is mechanically possible – even if it's a digital concept…
But will it be a digital concept for long? While we can only speculate, it's not unheard of for Vision Gran Turismo cars to be wildly exaggerated: frequently weighing in at unrealistically low figures or achieving plainly excessive speeds – even for a digital product. Not the Ferrari, though. The company has the expertise to extract the power, and judging by the digital dry weight of 1,250 kg with its stripped-out racing disposition and somewhat heavy electric assistance; we can't help but wonder if it's a real-world case study that's been digitised for ongoing development. Stranger things have happened at Maranello…
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