Jun 17, 2015

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Back in December, Infiniti released drawings of its Vision GT Concept car, an entry into the Gran Turismo Vision competition. If you’re not familiar, Gran Turismo is a massively popular video game racing simulator. And the Vision competition was started by GT game designer and racecar driver Kazunori Yamauchi to encourage the world’s automotive designers to design grand touring supercars for the game.

Infiniti Vision GT, when released for the game, was a futuristic, aggressively stylized two-door that was built for the track. But it was just a digital rendering. Well, if you drove the Vision GT in Gran Turismo, wondering if it would ever see the light of day, you’re in for good news. At a recent Infiniti design event, the premium automaker showed off the Infiniti Vision GT to an audience of industry insiders in Shanghai, and it’s just as impressive in real-life as it is in the video game. Featuring design cues from the current Infiniti line-up, in tandem with a swooping, low-profile build, the Vision GT looks like the Batmobile.

So does the Shanghai unveiling mean it’s headed for production? No, it doesn’t, but it’s certainly a great sign that Infiniti is at least toying with the idea. Of course, there’s still a long way to go. The Infiniti Vision GT remains a concept car, and the automaker hasn’t released plans for production. So there’s a chance that this is as far as close to reality as the concept car makes it. But we’re keeping our fingers crossed at Lake Norman Infiniti that’s not the case.

Infiniti Vision GT Concept Car: First Look and Specifications

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The Vision GT’s front fascia is down-to-business track-ready, and it sets the tone for the entire two-design. Featuring a massive front diffuser, along the underbody, as well as lightning-bolt front headlamps, the design team at Infiniti Design Beijing didn’t take any liberties, creating an ambitious new racing design language for Infiniti.

The overall body is flowing and voluptuous, with a swooping hood and a completely aerodynamic roofline. The Vision GT also sits low-to-the ground, ready-to-pounce, with massive alloy wheels and gaping side air intakes. To add to its aggressive stance, the Infiniti GT features a black-on-silver spoiler and a spaceship-looking bubble over the cabin. In other words, the Vision GT look like an Infiniti, but there’s also influences of modern performance Formula 1 cars. Either way, it was certainly at home in Gran Turismo.

Finally, although the unveiled version body-only, in the video game, the Vision GT features a 4.5-liter V8 engine, featuring hybrid petrol-electric power that provides to the rear via a transaxle. As Road and Track highlighted in a post about the Vision GT, Nissan V8 engines – which is Infiniti sister company – delivers power in a similar fashion. So that may be a good sign; this concept car isn’t pure fantasy.

Born Out of Global Infiniti Design Competition

To enter the Gran Turismo Vision competition, Infiniti challenged their design teams around the world to submit concepts for an Infiniti grand touring two-door. The Beijing office ultimately developed the Vision GT that appeared in the game, and now in real-life. So for now, the Infiniti Vision GT remains mostly fantasy, but some day, a version of the vehicle that was unveiled in Shanghai might become available. We’ll just have to wait and see.

If you’d like to learn more about the Vision GT, Infiniti produced a video showing renderings and video game footage of the vehicle, as well as some interviews with the GT’s Beijing design team. You can view that here: