The 12 best Vision Gran Turismo cars | FOS Future Lab

GT by Citroën

We begin all the way back in 2008, before Vision Gran Turismo was even a thing. The GT by Citroën, which debuted on Gran Turismo 5, is we think the lightbulb moment for the VGT idea. That is a fictional sportscar designed purely for the game by an OEM. The designer, Takumi Yamamoto, was actually a childhood friend of Kazunori Yamauchi. Maybe the GT was the fevered brainchild of a drunken high-school reunion? We can only speculate. It appeared in the games in various forms, with EV power, motors on each wheel and up to 789PS (580kW). Was the Citroën GT the Rimac of the 2000s? Not quite. The real-life version used Ford V8 power for around 655PS.

Mercedes-AMG Vision Gran Turismo

Five years later, Mercedes would get the ball rolling properly, with the Mercedes-AMG Vision Gran Turismo. Created for use in Gran Turismo 6 in 2013, the VGT Merc was the perfect breakout example of the idea. That is, the classic elements of a brand’s most illustrious creations, taken to the ultimate extreme. You could imagine this as a hundredth-anniversary tribute to the 300 SLR in 2055. 

Design influences include the obvious historical callbacks, plus the SLS AMG – contemporary at the time – and of all things, the classic Batmobile. Appropriate, as the Caped Crusader himself would run it as his daily hack in the Justice League superhero team-up movie. Sliding back to reality and the tangible connection these things have with actual cars, that grille didn’t take long to appear on the AMG GT3. Plus, we’d wager the next Mercedes SL will bear more than a resemblance to this near ten-year-old pie-in-the-sky concept.

Aston Martin DP100

Oh, how varied the idea of an Aston Martin hypercar can be. Sit the DP100 and the Valkyrie next to each other and you might be justified in claiming that the Valkyrie is the fictional Vision Gran Turismo car. Still, the DP100 is close to our hearts here at Goodwood, given it first saw the light of day here at the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard in 2013.

The DP100 is much more the conventional supercar in design, with the wedge shape and bulkier proportions. The front grille previewed the coming Vantage replacement, while the rear lights are pretty much a dead ringer for the Vulcan, which followed in March 2015. As the first mid-engined Aston since the Bulldog and the AMR1 Group C prototype, there are nods to those cars also. As you might be able to tell by the name, the DP100 came also (somewhat late) as a part of Aston Martin’s centenary celebration.

Mazda LM55 Vision Gran Turismo

The Mazda LM55 looks back to a very different part of Mazda’s history, specifically it’s victory at Le Mans. It holds a special place in our heart here at Goodwood, as it also had pride of place on Mazda’s sculpture at the 2015 Festival of Speed, alongside the Le Mans winner. 

We see a Group C car imagined for the modern era, with modern Mazda design language. Mazda calls it “a fusion of speed and elegance, aimed at overall victory at Le Mans”. A fairly clear mission statement, which sounds appetising in 2021 as the Le Mans Hypercar class draws more and more manufacturers back... Hybridised rotary Le Mans return for Mazda anyone? Make the petition and we’ll sign it... 

Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo

Probably the most blatant preview for a coming production car in a Vision Gran Turismo car, came with the 2015 Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo. Granted, the Chiron that followed in 2016 is hardly ‘production’ but still, the VGT really can fairly be described as a Chiron in race-ready motorsport drag. Underneath, there are no electric motors, no futuristic specs – it was Bugatti as we knew and loved it. That’s to say, powered by an 8.0-litre W16 with four turbos. Actually, even ten years on from the Veyron’s debut, that still sounded like videogame fantasy. 

The Vision Gran Turismo was also not immune to the demands and difficult-to-refuse offers of Bugatti’s clientele. A middle-eastern enthusiast managed to convince Bugatti to sell it, albeit with the proviso that it not be used on the road. Yes, the full-size Vision Gran Turismo was also fully-kitted with the aforementioned W16. Notable, then for being a fully-realised fully-functioning Vision Gran Turismo. The Chiron Pur Sport is probably more extensively developed for hardcore track work, mind…

Dodge SRT Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo

If some get a mention because of their significance to us, the marque they belong to or the history of the Vision Gran Turismo programme, others, like the Dodge SRT Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo, earn their place through sheer coolness.

Just look at it! It’s Vision GT all over – a 2,000PS-plus (1,471kW) Viper V10, truly enormous active aero wings and flaps, compressed air that boosts the car with literal thrust. It’s the brilliant product of a design department that properly let loose and we’re here for it all day.

Alpine Vision Gran Turismo

Long before the superb A110 graced us, there came the Alpine Vision GT. Styled like a futuristic interpretation of a classic endurance racer, it very much embodied the retro-modern mission statement now evident in the A110. It’s not all wings and protruding aero addenda, it’s very sleek and with its billowing long-tail, not dissimilar in basic shape to the A442B Le Mans-winner.

Underneath, it’s a very conventional beast. With a 450PS (330kW) V8 and sub-tonne weight number, it boasts the figures of our idea of the ideal supercar. While the A110 that eventually came out is nowhere near this extreme, it retains some of those basic Alpine design cues that make it a pleasing thing to behold.

Hyundai N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo

They’re near the top step in rallying. They’re building some of the best hot hatches on the road. Now, imagine if the bods at Hyundai N got the Le Mans itch in time for 2023? We wonder if you wouldn’t be far off Hyundai’s N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo of 2015. We’ll be damned if it isn’t one of the best-looking and potentially, most realistic-looking interpretation of a new-age top-level prototype. Tomahawk, cool as you are, you ain’t happening.

Powering it is an 884PS (650kW) hydrogen fuel cell system in combination with a supercapacitor. Okay, maybe the Hyundai isn’t either. We’d love to see them take a crack at it though and this Vision Gran Turismo, if nothing else, proves they’ve at least thought about it…

McLaren Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo

Imagine a McLaren hypercar, or prototype racer, without limits, without restrictions. Chances are it looks something like the Ultimate Vision GT. Exciting though it is to see McLaren’s idea of a perfect top-level prototype racer, we can’t help but struggle to actually see any ‘McLaren’ in the styling.

Underneath it is at least a little more realistic. The familiar 4.0-litre V8 sits in the middle powering the back wheels, with electric motors assisting on each of the front wheels. Power is 1,140PS (838kW), shifting a total of 1,000kg. We very much like.

Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo

Far from a pie-in-the-sky super sportscar homage, Audi chose to pay tribute to the magnificent 90 Quattro IMSA GTO with the e-tron Gran Turismo. Per the name, there’s no booming turbocharged five-cylinder lurking under that coupe bodywork. There is however in one of the two versions, a 3.4-litre turbocharged V6 in combination with hybrid assistance. The other version is a full EV.

It also borrows parts from Audi’s contemporary DTM and R8 racing cars. In shape and design, it’s like an A5 from 2025 and we wouldn’t be surprised to see cues from this car carry over to future models. 

Jaguar Vision Gran Turismo Coupe

Jaguar’s take on the Vision Gran Turismo theme was never going to be a jagged guns-blazing sports-prototype of a furious track weapon and that is such a good thing. Of course, what else, other than a sexy, sleek sports GT – an all-electric F-Type successor from two decades in the future. Meet the Jaguar Vision GT. Of course, it’s still the make-believe world of Vision GT, so naturally, it has over 1,000PS (735kW) from its four electric motors and can hit 62mph in under two seconds.

Design-wise it pulls from Jaguar’s illustrious history of long-bonneted lust machines, from the Le Mans-winning D-type (that interior centre tunnel) to the E-type and F-Type. A running theme with Vision GT cars is excess, so the wide stance, confident curves and stretching bodywork expanses of Jaguar GTs of old have been taken to the extreme. The perfect foil for the Mercedes-AMG Vision GT, wouldn’t you agree?

Lamborghini Vision Gran Turismo ‘Lambo V12’

Finally, from a Vision Gran Turismo that exaggerates sexiness and smooth lines, to this. The single-seater Lamborghini Vision GT ‘Lambo V12’ and the big Jag above couldn’t be more opposite. This thing makes the Caparo T1 look like a Nissan Micra, with its sharp edges, aggressive angles, sprouting wings and fighter jet cockpit. To be fair, if Vision GT takes a brand to its ultimate extreme, Lamborghini were fairly extreme to begin with. The Lambo V12 is how you take extreme to the extreme. There are advantages to the madness, not least in terms of aerodynamics, downforce and weight saving. Where there isn’t bodywork, there isn’t weight and what bodywork there is, is bullying the air around it. As such, the Lambo V12 weighs just 819kg.

It’s not all airy-fairy sci-fi madness, though. The clue is in the name, with the familiar Lamborghini V12, with a hybrid system, providing power. Even the tri-exit exhausts are borrowed from the Aventador S, albeit with two of them where the Aventador makes do with a singular mid-mounted item.

So which of our 13 favourite Vision Gran Turismo cars would you take for your virtual garage, given only one? Of the brands that are left that haven’t done a Vision GT car, which would you most like to have a go? Let us know.

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