Bugatti has revealed a series of digital renderings of a new concept developed for the Gran Turismo 6 gaming platform, but it’s more than a virtual flight of fancy. The Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo is a real car, and it’s scheduled to make its first public appearance at the Frankfurt motor show in a little more than one weeks’ time.
Though other carmakers have claimed that their concept cars potentially signal the arrival of new design elements on their mainstream models, the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo concept is said to point towards the hotly anticipated Veyron replacement due out imminently.
“In the Bugatti Veyron, we have developed a super sports car which unites two characteristics, the beauty and the beast,” explains Bugatti head of design Achim Anscheidt. “The Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo embodies the performance beast. It has a more radical and extreme style. This is a thorough-bred Bugatti for the virtual race track, not for the street.”
According to Bugatti, the designers drew their inspiration from the brand’s racing success in the 1920s and 1930s. The historical reference for the design of the virtual modern racecar was, in particular, the Bugatti Type 57 Tank and its victories in the 24-hour Le Mans race in 1937 and 1939. This is why the Vision Gran Turismo also sports the classic blue two-tone finish of the 1937 Le Mans-winning Type 57 G Tank, a hue which went on to become the Bugatti brand’s defining color.
But in the process of “taking Bugatti back to its roots,” head of exterior design creative development Sasha Selipanov also sought to imbue a more expressive form language dominated by large convex surfaces, which contrast with concave transitions and precise lines that give tension to the surfaces. This leads to athletic proportions designed to meet the car’s performance goals.
“Under no circumstances did we want to create a retro-style race car in memory of the successes in Le Mans, but rather to transfer the feeling and mood of these special moments in Bugatti’s history to a modern vehicle,” says Selipanov. “As an acknowledged Gran Turismo fan, it is a great adventure for me to bring a brand which was once so successful in racing back to the virtual track.”
As can be deduced from these digital renderings, it’s clear that Bugatti didn’t stray too far from the Veyron path; the design is typical of the themes we’ve seen on recent cars such as the production Veyron but also the 16C Galibier super-sedan/fastback concept shown at an exclusive gathering in France in September 2009.
The exterior renderings featured here are by Selipanov, a relative newcomer to the recently expanded Bugatti design team. He also worked on the Lamborghini Huracan design.
Given that Volkswagen’s ultra-luxury supercar company has essentially had a one-car stable for a while now, we’re betting that this latest concept car also previews a new as-yet-unannounced model for the brand. The company didn’t just double the size of its design team for nothing.
We’ll bring you more details and photos of the Vision Gran Turismo concept once we see the car in person in Frankfurt.
