Well, what do we have here? There's a newcomer in the world of Gran Turismo 6 and no. It's not another one of the M3 Touring Cars and it's not even its successor, the M4, which took its touring car duty this year.
What's this?
What this is is the second chapter of the Vision Gran Turismo and this time, it's the turn of BMW. Meet the BMW Vision Gran Turismo, and this concept made in collaboration with Gran Turismo traces its roots to BMW's successful involvement in the world of motorsports.
So...what's it all about? Tracing its roots from one of the most successful touring cars since the 70's, the folks from BMW designed a car made specifically for this game, interpreting it as a track weapon for the modern world. In my view, I believe that this dream machine blends the modern marvels with the historical heritage that BMW garnered from the past decades and its involvement in the world of motorsports, namely the DTM, the Nurburgring 24 Hour endurance, the ALMS (now the United SportsCar Racing), and so much more.
While the roots are all in the essence, the design of the BMW VGT took some cues from today's BMW models such as the headlamps and the taillights, they all came from today's BMW models, especially the M4 that I test drove last year. Sticking true to its "Freude am Fahren" slogan, the BMW VGT is the ultimate expression of joy when it comes to its sheer driving pleasure that Bimmer fans would want to know.
Under the hood is a 3.0L six-cylinder engine with M TwinPower Turbo technology, which delivers an impressive 541HP of power output and 680Nm of torque while it was mated to a 6-speed gearbox which I can't tell you what that is because this machine is purely a work of fiction from a real car company.
Thanks to the concept's extensive use of carbon fiber materials, it weighs at a featherweight 1,180kg and not only it has a perfect weight distribution, the power-to-weight ratio is an impressive 2.18kg/HP. But that's not all, the legendary aerodynamics inspired from past BMW racing machines really fit well thanks to its impressive downforce and drag reduction with the use of air conduction elements.
So, in the hands of a driver, this concept is an all-rounder that has a healthy balance of speed and agility. Not only it's a powerful beast to slip past its rivals but it's also a magnificent performer at the corners. It handles like what every BMW racing car had been in the past decades. Such dedication deserves a tough challenge and I think there's one...
From now until the end of this month, players can take part of the special BMW VISION GRAN TURISMO SUPER LAP and win this machine to use in-game. The car has been provided as a courtesy vehicle so you have the chance to sample the nimble footwork that this concept Bimmer it deserves and no matter the lap time would be...this car's yours.
Now, that challenge gave me the time to talk about how it performs at the Nurburgring GP/F, the venue for this special challenge...
Although it takes a driver with his or her inner Kwazii-ness to master this machine, the BMW Vision GT is definitely one of the best handling cars in the world of Gran Turismo 6. Engine in the front, drive at the back, and a let's-pretend-I'm-better-than-Kwazii-was in the middle. Oh wait, that's not right...
What I mean is that it was definitely an epic concept car to drive at and even though you are driving like a Brainiac, the healthy balance of speed and precision really moves about and you can sense all the DNA from BMW's motorsport involvement in there. Well, if it's in the blood, it's in the blood.
Of course, for a featherweight car with big torque, mistakes are bound to happened but it takes guts to tame this bewildering machine and if you got the talent to tame it...you're starting to gain the respect the concept racer deserves...
After several laps later...I finally achieved the Gold Target Time for this challenge and I posted a 1:58.944 lap time, proving that the BMW Vision GT really pushes the envelope as the ultimate driving machine but only just.
This car is available on the VERSION 1.07 Update of Gran Turismo 6 on the Playstation3 so best to update now to get this machine!
BMW VISION GRAN TURISMO
Make: BMW
Country of Origin: Germany
Drivetrain: FR
Max Power: 541HP
Max Torque: 499.0ft-lb
Weight: 1,180kg
Senior Vice President BMW Group Design:
Adrian van Hooydonk
Head of Design BMW Automobiles:
Karim Habib
Head of Exterior Design BMW Automobiles:
Domagoj Dukec
Exterior Design BMW Vision Gran Turismo:
Fabien Clottu
Julian Bechteler
Head of International Product Placement BMW Group:
Claudia Muller
Head of Geometrical Design and Integration BMW M GmbH:
Heinrich Eickhorst
Head of Functional Design and Integration BMW M GmbH:
Thorsten Richter
With Mercedes-Benz and BMW presented their Vision Gran Turismo concepts, which carmaker will be next? Find out soon...
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