Future Vision

From the tremendously popular PlayStation 4 game to working reality, the ‘Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo’ concept car, is a stunning vision of the future that will take to the track from this weekend.

Originally developed exclusively for virtual races on PlayStations 4’s Gran Tursimo, the futuristic concept car will feature at this weekend’s Rome ePrix as a race taxi, and will become a regular feature at all Formula E rounds in Europe this season.

“E-Mobility is rapidly gaining importance,” says Peter Mertens, Member of the Board of Management, Technical Development, AUDI AG. 

“That is why in 2017 Audi was the first German manufacturer to enter Formula E with a factory-backed commitment. In our development laboratory that is motorsport, we are continuously expanding our expertise in e-mobility and gathering valuable experience also in extremely demanding conditions.” 

Audi has enjoyed a long association with Sony and Polyphony Digital – the creators of ‘Gran Turismo’ – with the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo developed for the ‘Vision Gran Turismo’ competition that was launched on the market for the game’s 15th anniversary.

Employees at Audi’s pre-production centre developed and produced this one-of-a-kind car in just 11 months based on the example of the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo from the ‘Gran Turismo’ PlayStation game. 

Various other manufacturers also developed vehicles for the virtual race series and subsequently produced full-scale models for trade shows, but the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo, is the first concept car of this range to be deployed to real-world race tracks as a fully functional vehicle. 

Audi has deliberately taken up design elements and the colour of the legendary Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO from the late 1980s. The car features quattro all-wheel drive with variable power distribution and is powered by three electric motors, each with output of 200kW, for a total output of 600kW.

The run from 0 to 100km/h disappears in 2.5 seconds, and the perfect 50:50 percent weight distribution between the front and the rear axle gives the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo extraordinary balance and handling.

This manifestation of the game car will no doubt be a huge attraction when it debuts in Rome on the weekend, with former DTM driver Rahel Frey and Le Mans winner Dindo Capello sharing the driving duties as it transports guests around the track. 

“The Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo shows that electric mobility at Audi is very emotive. This car incorporates numerous elements of our new design language such as the inverted single frame in the vehicle’s colour that will be typical for our new e-tron models,” says Audi’s chief designer Marc Lichte. 

“Although the design of a virtual vehicle allows much greater freedom and the creation of concepts which are only hard to implement in reality, we did not want to put a purely fictitious concept on wheels. Our aim was a fully functional car.”