Virtual Bugatti racer gets real

Published Sep 2, 2015

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By: IOL Motoring Staff

Molsheim, France - This is Bugatti's show car for the 2015 Frankfurt motor show and yes, it's for real.

Millions of gamers around the world will recognise the virtual concept Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo, developed for the eponymous video game in collaboration with Polyphony.

But now the Vison is about to drive off the screen and on to the Bugatti stand at the Messe, from 15 to 27 September.

“The design team normally works only for the exclusive circle of Bugatti customers,” explained Achim Anscheidt, head of Bugatti Design.

“But when the target group suddenly grows from 450 Veyron owners to several million fans, gamers and high performance aficionados, that's very exciting. We had a lot of fun with this project.”

The team took as its inspiration the Type 57 Tank, winner of the 1937 and 1939 Le Mans 24 Hour races, hence the two-tone blue livery. Although virtual racing cars don't have to be practical or even possible, Anscheidt insisted that the Gran Turismo be instantly recognisable as a Bugatti and that every part should have a real function.

‘MORE OF THE BEAST’

So this car has been developed in close cooperation with the Bugatti engineers; it's based on cutting-edge racing technology and precise aerodynamic analyses.

“It's not a retro-style race car,” said exterior designer Sasha Selipanov. “The Veyron was a combination of the beauty and the beast; the Vision is more of the beast, more radical and extreme, a Bugatti for the virtual race track, not for the street.”

And of course it has the Bugatti signature horseshoe grille in the middle of the front air intake, supporting the structure between the wings and the splitter.

The centre fin is also vintage Molsheim, derived from the 1936-1939 Type 57 Atlantic road cars; the one on the roof also contributes significantly to directional stability at high speed.

“This is an uncompromising race car,” emphasised interior designer Etienne Salome. “The interior is designed to meet racing requirements. All the displays and controls are where a race-car driver needs them - easy to read and easy to reach.”

Anscheidt summed up: “We wanted to design a virtual race car that is a genuine Bugatti down to the last detail, and we hope the gamers will have as much fun racing it as we did developing it!”

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