So the way it generally works with high-performance cars and their fans is they get to experience their favourite driving machines as virtual counterparts in their favourite computer and console racing games. Meaning the real cars come first, which are then replicated for driving pleasure on a computer, PlayStation or Xbox.
These days there appears to be an interesting reversal in the trend--and Bugatti is leading that charge. A few weeks ago, the French hypercar company (now Volkswagen-owned) happened to be the prime accused behind the case of jaws dropping en masse at the Frankfurt Motor show, thanks to their Vision GT unveiling. Resembling something born out of a marriage between Chris Nolan Batman and Joseph Kosinski TRON Legacy, it’s a completely stupendous car. But when people realized that the car on display was no cardboard mockup, that it was an actual vehicle that could be driven around, it sent ripples of speculation about whether this would be the spiritual successor to their venerable Veyron.
Now in this recently-released video, it comes directly from the horse’s mouth--that yes, this car marks the beginning of what will mark their next era of hypercars. From an engine that sounds like the soundtrack to an impending cataclysm to automotive design lines like nothing you’ve ever seen, here’s something that appears destined to dwell among the rarefied hypercar pantheon. As Sasha Selipanov, Bugatti’s Head of Exterior Design Creative Department, says, “We’ve had a dream to do such a car for a very long time in the design department: taking the Bugatti, stripping it of all of its excessive luxury and doing a thoroughbred racing car.”
It’s a car that is designed--ground up--so that every feature is function-driven. From the flowing fin that extends from the roof to the hindquarters that provides aerodynamic stability to the manner in which the controls in the cabin are laid out, everything has a purpose. And that purpose is single-mindedly performance. Brought to life as an actual drivable virtual car in the popular Gran Turismo driving simulator on PlayStation, it’s a drive that every gamer could potentially experience.
If you’re a car nut, be prepared for your hair to stand on end.
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