Following a brief teaser campaign, Volkswagen has fully unveiled the GTI Supersport Vision Gran Turismo concept. As its name clearly implies, the concept was designed for the popular Gran Turismo 6 video game.
Volkswagen explains that its newest concept is an update of the GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo that made a surprise appearance at last year’s Los Angeles Motor Show. A GTI in name only, the concept wears a muscular look thanks to a deep front bumper accented by a race-inspired splitter, an oversized air dam with honeycomb inserts, vertical LED fog lights and new concept-specific headlights.
Out back, Volkswagen has turned the dial up to 11 with what is undoubtedly the biggest spoiler ever fitted to a GTI in the hot hatch’s nearly 40-year history, a huge carbon fiber air diffuser integrated into the lower bumper and twin chromed exhaust pipes. Air vents integrated into the hood, a pair of side skirts and slim futuristic-looking door mirrors lower the GTI’s drag coefficient, while NACA ducts built into the roof panel direct air into the cabin.
Technical details are a little vague, which is understandable considering that the concept was designed primarily for a video game. Power comes from a transversally-mounted VR6 TSI engine that, on paper, makes 503 horsepower and about 490 foot-pounds of torque. The six-cylinder spins all four wheels via a dual-clutch DSG transmission and Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel drive system. The Supersport can sprint from zero to 62 mph in 3.6 seconds and it tops out at nearly 190 mph.
Although it will certainly not be given the green light for production, the Volkswagen GTI Supersport Vision Gran Turismo concept could make its public debut next month at the Wörthersee show that will be held in Austria. Alternatively, gamers can already download the car in Gran Turismo and take it for a virtual spin on one of 37 tracks.
