Porsche Vision GT Digital Concept Car Paves The Way For Future Electric Sportscars

Porsche has unveiled the Vision Gran Turismo, a virtual racing car designed for Gran Turismo 7 which will be released by Polyphony Digital on March 4 2022 for both the PS4 and PS5 gaming consoles. While Porsche’s concept was created merely for the digital world, the company created a full-scale prototype and hinted that its design shows the way for future electric sportscars.

Porsche has been featured in Gran Turismo since 2017 with several production models. However, this is the first time the Zuffenhausen company creates a car exclusively for the game, following the example of other manufacturers including Mercedes, McLaren, Lamborghini, and Jaguar.

Most Vision Gran Turismo concepts look like supercars from the distant future and incorporate extreme styling cues since none of them are destined for production. Porsche’s take has all of the design drama you would expect from a virtual racing car but in a more subtle manner, since it is also supposed to be a preview for future electric models. More specifically, Peter Varga, Director of Exterior Design at Porsche AG, said: “The Porsche Vision Gran Turismo is more than just a gaming fantasy. It is a realistic look into the future that will definitely help us with development in the years ahead”.

While the company could easily use one of the several hypercar-style concepts from the Porsche Unseen series like the gorgeous 919 Street, they decided to create something brand new, stimulating the fantasy of petrolheads and gaming enthusiasts alike.

The Porsche Vision GT was created by a team of designers who grew up playing the famous game on Playstation consoles. Their goal was to make something small, light, and efficient, showing what is possible with the latest technology and an electric powertrain. Proportions are quite extreme, reminding us of mid-engined supercars but with an ultra-low profile made possible by the absence of an internal combustion engine.

The concept car, made of carbon fiber and titanium, is instantly recognizable as a Porsche thanks to the surfacing of the protruding fenders and the heavily sculpted bodywork. The deep cuts behind the huge wheels are similar to the Mission R although a lot more dramatic. The Vision GT also borrows some of the design details found on current production models like the four-part LED graphics on the low-positioned headlights and the full-width LED taillight below the adaptive rear spoiler that also works as an air brake.

Inside the two-seater cabin, we find a very low seating position, a yoke-shaped steering wheel, a thin center console, upholstery exclusively created from vegan materials, and a transparent instrument cluster using head-up display technology. In the video game, the latter is replaced with even more futuristic hologram-style instruments.

Besides saying that it is fully electric, Porsche didn’t give us any details on the (theoretical) specs of the car, something that may happen in the game. While it is clear that the design study won’t evolve into a production model, we are excited to see it in the flesh and happy to hear that it will inspire future models. Anyone who has a PS4 or PS5 console will be able to drive the concept car as part of the Gran Turismo 7 video game starting from March 2022.