It wouldn't feel quite right if 2014, the year of the Vision Gran Turismo, closed without at least one more wild Vision GT debut. Infiniti made sure that didn't happen, revealing its simply named Concept Vision Gran Turismo, a curvy racer that provides a "vision of what a high performance Infiniti could look like in the future."
The Concept Vision GT has its roots in an internal design competition that challenged designers to bring to life a vision of a "pure Infiniti GT car." Infiniti's Beijing design team created the winner, a curvaceous but hard-bodied track car with an ambitious racing language. After multiple rounds of digital and hand refinement, Infiniti revealed the design last week. As it accurately describes, the car is part beauty, part beast.
Infiniti's Vision GT is powered by a front-mounted 4.5-liter V8 that drives the rear wheels via a rear transaxle. That layout helps maintain a 45:55 front/rear weight distribution that opens up effortless drifting. A single electric motor boosts torque at low speeds. Aerodynamic treatments include under-floor airflow control, front and rear diffusers, and the distinctly-shaped rear spoiler.
Our first thought when we heard that Infiniti was designing a Vision GT: How will it compare to the Concept 2020 from parent company Nissan? So far, Nissan/Infiniti are the only closely related brands that have both revealed Vision Gran Turismos.
Similarities are clear in the general proportions, sub-headlamp air scoops and three-dimensional, aero-carved sides. However, each is a distinct design and the differences are pronounced in the rear, where the Infiniti has production car-like sculpting above its large, cavernous diffuser while the Nissan has a raw, race car-style backside. Both have curvy front fenders, but the Infiniti's are short and pronounced, the Nissan's long and flowing. The Nissan has something all its own going on around the rear wheels.
Infiniti''s description of its Vision GT as a "vision of what a high performance Infiniti could look like in the future" could just be generic video-game introduction language, but it could also mean that the Concept Vision GT previews some elements of its rumored flagship sports car. That car has been rumored since the likes of the Emerg-E and Essence concepts and got some recent juice when Autocar reported in August that Infiniti is working on a supercar to be launched by 2017/18, possibly with an F1-derived, V6-based hybrid system.
If a high-level Infiniti sports car does indeed surface, we're sure it won't look exactly like the video game-ready Vision GT track demon, but perhaps it will share some individual elements. Hopefully, the super flowy profile, minus the lower aero treatments, and three-dimensional rear-end will reemerge.
The Infiniti Concept Vision Gran Turismo is now available for Gran Turismo 6, a PlayStation 3 exclusive. See a preview and find out more about its design in the video below.
Source: Infiniti