Now it seems that Gran Turismo and Nissan have rekindled another former romance. The result is the Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo, a futuristic design featured as a downloadable vehicle. Interesting you might think, however how does this affect the motoring world outside of the realm of virtual reality?
Apparently the concept, formulated by Nissan's young designers during a design study, was so impressive that it encouraged the Japanese manufacturer's European headquarters to draft in the experts engineering teams from the land of the rising sun. The result, the 2020 Vision Gran Turismo Concept has made the giant leap from virtual reality to virtually existing.
Unveiled at this week's Goodwood Festival of Speed, the possibility of a similar production vehicle resulting from this study just edge a tiny bit closer. Joining a class of manufacturers, including; Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi and automotive design company Zagato, Nissan's new concept vehicle is part of the Vision Gran Turismo series. A series commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Gran Turismo brand, Vision Gran Turismo was created to demonstrate innovative new designs and futuristic concept vehicles from brands involved in its history.
The Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo is a 2+2 sports car comprising of race and track technology. The purposeful and sleek design implies sublime performance, and was crafted skillfully by aerodynamics technicians. To put it simply, air will flow along this body like a hot knife through butter.
Nissan state that although innovative, the design features some elements typical of previous models. Modernised certainly, but there is surely only one destiny for this concept besides video games.
Piecing together this jigsaw, some may conclude that this could eventually be the next generation Nissan GT-R. Whilst unconfirmed, everything certainly does add up. Nissan unveiled the concept for the current model in 2001 at the Tokyo Motor Show, six years prior to the Japanese launch of the production model. This current concept arrives in 2014, six years prior to the 2020 date hinted in the name.
Should this prove too coincidental for you, try to deny the 2+2 sports car layout isn't in a similar class to the current model, as are some of the design elements. Gran Turismo's involvement is also a large hint, as the 2001 concept was available in Playstation 2 title, Gran Turismo Concept in 2002, even featured as the cover art.
A conspiracy theory for sure, if not merely an intelligent speculation, the potential is certainly there for future release. Although no word has been given on power sources, figures or prices, we can be safe in the knowledge that Nissan will take their sweet time to perfect this supercar killer - six years to be precise. Instead of carting me off to the lunatic asylum amongst those who consider 9/11 an inside job, wait and see what is revealed in the coming years. Mark my words, this will probably be a large portion of the design for the Nissan GT-R for the next generation.