BMW Vision Gran Turismo

In the last post I presented the first Vision Gran Turismo (VGT) concept car, the Mercede-Benz AMG VGT. The Germans keep on giving since the second concept is a BMW creation.

I will not explain what Vision Gran Turismo is in this post since I already did it in the Mercedes one.

BMW Vision Gran Turismo at the Nürburgring GP track.

BMW Vision Gran Turismo is the name of the concept car, but actually it could very well be called the BMW 2-series racing concept. So many design features are taken from the 2-series. Nonetheless, this car looks absolutely fantastic. It has the sense of the old 3.0 CSL (one of my favourite BMWs) about it. The fixed rear wing and the wider stance with those wheel arches make it look like a well trained attack dog with David Coulthard-like features. The classic BMW M-sport stripes are back as well. Painted, apparently, where the airstream would flow around the car.

I do like side-exhausts. Spitting flames as the Merc before.

The outstanding looks is not a front either, this car goes. It hosts the traditional BMW 3.0 litre straight six coupled with two turbos. Before i mention the power numbers let me tell you, the sound - even though it is in a game - is absolutely operatic. It sounds like the engine is, a pure masterpiece. Now that you probably have rushed out to hear that sound yourself, let's talk numbers. The engine delivers 549 horsepower and a peak torque of 680 Nm. There's no weight to hold it down either, the car weighs only 1,180 kg.


The BMW Vision Gran Turismo has a compact look that was present in the BMW racing cars in the 70's which in my mind makes it look great. In the words of Karim Habib (Head of Design BMW Automobiles) "It is engineered to race and win".

Side view with the airflow M-sport stripes.

Here they meet, like father like son (almost). BMW 2002 turbo in the role of father.

Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo

The ultimate driving simulator game Gran Turismo 6 have for a while now had a project called Vision Gran Turismo (VGT). Here different car manufacturers design a concept car for the game commemorating the 15th anniversary of Gran Turismo games.

Mercedes-Benz AMG VGT,

The honour of being the first to unveil their VGT concept was Mercedes in November 2013.The car is called Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo. It's neither a catchy or an innovative name but then again Mercedes have never been good at that sort of thing. Concept cars are all about the looks, flexing the muscles of the design division to the max. Even though the car is designed to be in a game it looks like it could work as a successor for the Mercedes SLS in a decade or so. Obviously, this concept is sporting some familiar curves and details
 from the Mercedes-Benz performance-car range with some concept design touches, as those LED lights in the grill.

M-B AMG VGT Racing Series at the Red Bull Ring.

Under that long bonnet hides a biturbo 5.5 litre V8 developing 577 horsepower, sufficient enough for cruising on the autobahn at a comfortable 280 km/h . Even though that amount of power seems like much, remember, the SLS AMG has 563 horsepower from a naturally aspirated 6.2 litre V8. This means Mercedes has designed this car to be a greener grand tourer than the previous ones. To this theory ads the aluminium and carbon fibre body that weighs only 1,385 kg. To put it in context the SLS AMG tips the scales at 1,620 kg.

Spitting flames!

No other manufacturer that has taken part in creating a VGT concept are yet to make two cars, except Mercedes. They created a track version of the grand tourer and call it the Racing Series. It has the same engine (5.5 litre biturbo V8) but 14 more hp (591 hp) and 85 kg less weight. Naturally it sits a bit lower down, has racing suspension and the 7-speed gearbox is more track oriented. The most noticeable feature, however, must be the large rear wing. Which I think suits the car very well.

 This, in fact, was the first car of many to be revealed in the coming months. As of writing this there have been eleven different manufacturers that have released their Vision Gran Turismo concepts to the game. Let's go through all of them, shall we.

Here is the difference between the two Mercs, Notice the GT logo on the Racing Series.

Mercedes claim the styling goes back to the 300SL. I'm sorry, but apart from the grill, I don't see it.