When it comes to video games, the automotive industry has quite a few examples of life imitating art. Over the years, engineers and designers all over the world have created replicas that are spitting images of vehicles featured in famous video game tiles from Mario Kart to Halo. Perhaps some of the most notable examples were inspired by the major video game franchise Gran Turismo. This series features real automotive brands, so it not only gives car fans the chance to drive some of their favorite models in a simulated environment, it’s also given automakers the inspiration for some pretty amazing car builds.
If you’re planning on starting an automotive career, there’s a chance that you may have enjoyed a few racing games yourself at some point. Let’s take a look at a few cars that drew direct inspiration from the world of gaming.
1. GT by Citroen Concept: The Joint Design Venture Students in Auto Mechanic Training Should Know About
This car’s design had the helping hands of video game designers before eventually making its way to the assembly line. The GT by Citroen was designed in 2008 as a joint venture between the automaker and Japanese video game developer Polyphony Digital for their hit title Gran Turismo 5.
There were three playable versions of the car in the game, and a limited real-world production run. There’s a slim chance that you’ll see one after auto mechanic training, as there were only six models of the car ever built. In the game, the car was powered by a hydrogen fuel cell while the details of the real prototype specs remain unclear. The prototype made its debut at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, and the limited production models that were built afterwards had a suggested retail price of $2.1M.
2. The Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo: The Hypercar Students in Auto Mechanic Training Love
Bugatti designed and engineered the Vision Gran Turismo exclusively for PlayStation’s Gran Turismo 6, and built a stunning real-life example to showcase at last year’s Frankfurt International Motor Show.
Although Bugatti built a working version of the Vision racer, the company never released any actual performance specs. We do know that it uses a W-16 Bugatti engine, which experts suggest is capable of producing over 1,500 horsepower and 1,100 pound-feet of torque. An experienced auto mechanic in Cambridge would tell you that this means the car could easily go from 0-100 km/h in about 2 seconds. The Vision GT is estimated to have a top speed of approximately 475 km/h.
3. Red Bull X: A Video Game Legend Brought to Life
One of the most popular models to ever be featured in the Gran Turismo franchise is the Red Bull X, an F-1 racer designed by Adrian Newey who’s famous for designing several championship-winning race cars. The Red Bull X is redesigned every time a new Gran Turismo game comes out, and the game’s producers actually commissioned one to be built with the release of Gran Turismo 5.
In the game, the Red Bull X came with a 1,483 horsepower gas turbine engine with a top speed of 490 km/h. Unfortunately, the solid version that was built came with a twin-turbo V6 capable of maybe half that. It did, however, stay true to the same aerodynamic design that the video game version is known for.
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