Robert Vasquez: Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Becomes Ever-So-Slightly More Real

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Becomes Ever-So-Slightly More Real

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Bugatti has been parading its Vision Gran Turismo concept around for a while now. So far, it’s all been digital: the concept was designed for the wildly successful Gran Turismo 6 racing simulator, done up as a flight of fancy that didn’t have to obey the laws of physics and the demands of the real world quite so rigorously. But now, Bugatti has made one in flesh and blood—or rather, carbon fiber and metal—and unveiled it at the Frankfurt auto show. In a way, this video game daydream-turned-physical concept car could be our best look yet at the mighty Veyron’s replacement.

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“Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo is the first stage on a new journey that Bugatti is embarking on following the successful completion of its Veyron chapter, and which will culminate in the unveiling of the next Bugatti super sports car in the not too distant future,” said Wolfgang Dürheimer, president of Bugatti.

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The famed French supercar maker acknowledges the unrealism of this concept, saying the Vision Gran Turismo races “in a class in which the racers typically bear no or little relation to actual cars and whose design is therefore far more extreme and performance-geared than that of street-legal cars.” But the concept’s designers sought to give every component “a real performance function,” unlike some of the utterly fantastical, completely nonsensical machines dreamt up for Vision Gran Turismo.

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That means that the real-life Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo’s wildly finned and vented body is allegedly shaped for major aerodynamic benefit. Although head of chassis development Florian Umbach freed his designers from “the statutory requirements that as vehicle developers we naturally need to comply with in everyday life,” the Vision Gran Turismo concept is said to adhere to the necessary FIA racing safety regulations. Based on Bugatti development simulations and Volkswagen Group racing expertise, the company estimates that this concept could hit 250 mph in four different places on the Le Mans circuit, making up for “any disadvantages on the bends” to put down lap times “as quick in the virtual world as the fastest real-life LMP1 race car,” Umbach says.

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It also means that the sci-fi daydream machine you see here is our best look yet at the future of road car design at Bugatti. The automaker explicitly states that this concept “previews the design language that the brand has developed for the next chapter of its history,” setting the tone for Bugatti’s offerings in coming years. The company says the design draws inspiration from legendary Bugattis of the past, including the iconic Type 35 and the Le Mans-winning Type 57 Tank of 1937. We squinted as hard as we could to find the similarities between those spindly old racers and this fearsome hulk, but beyond the trademark horseshoe grille and the two-tone blue finish we couldn’t see many similarities.

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The Vision Gran Turismo has a hypothetical interior, replete with a steering wheel, a bunch of digital displays, and some kind of upholstery, but you don’t care about that. You’re wondering what powers this beast. Surprising no one, it’s a W-16—one assumes it’s the quad-turbo monster-motor of Veyron fame—driving all four wheels. Like most concept cars, this one doesn’t come with any claimed performance figures, imaginary or otherwise.

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So, will the next road-going Bugatti have the Vision Gran Turismo’s wild rear wing, its scythe-like aerodynamic baubles, and its astounding Le Mans top speed? Perhaps not—as much as we love fantasy, this is the real world we’re living in, and even something as ridiculous as a Veyron must have some semblance of usability. But in overall shape and aesthetic, expect the Vision Gran Turismo to bear a strong resemblance with whatever Bugatti ends up building next. With any luck, it’ll have that nifty engine bay cover shaped like a giant NACA air duct.

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