Real-Life Nissan Concept 2020 Previews Next Nissan GT-R
We already knew that Nissan’s Vision Gran Turismo model – a virtual car created for the PlayStation 3 racing game (pictured above) – would eventually have some real-life bearings; we just didn’t know exactly when or what they’d be. We suspected that the virtual supercar would have some ties to the next-generation GT-R, but now we know for sure. Nissan has confirmed all of our hopes with an in-the-metal debut of the Nissan Concept 2020 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, as seen in the video below:
What’s really interesting about this car is how it came about. Apparently, Nissan was asked to contribute to Gran Turismo 6 to commemorate the racing game’s 15th anniversary. This makes sense given that Nissan has been contributing to the Gran Turismo video games since the very first title. So, as a team from Nissan Design Europe was working to make the GT6 car as realistic as possible, a couple of their engineers realized that what they were developing could actually be a real car.
Nissan’s press release describes how, “The [Gran Turismo] model was considered to have so much potential that it has benefited from input from an advanced engineering team based at the Nissan Technical Center in Atsugi, Japan.” In the above video, Jann Mardenborough from the NISMO racing team described the car’s special relevance for him. As a recent graduate from Nissan’s GT Academy, a place where Nissan takes talented gamers and transforms them into real-life racecar drivers, the cross from virtual to reality is something he wants to see more of.
We have another video below that goes into more detail on the creative process that led to the car’s development:
As you can see, this was definitely a fun car to design, and both teams have created a perfect vision of what a high-performance Nissan might look like in the future. It’s fast, sleek, futuristic and exhilarating, and everyone will have a chance to drive it through the Gran Turismo video game.
As for the production model, it’s likely we won’t see the next GT-R anytime in the immediate future. Furthermore, Nissan has stated that the 2020 Concept is NOT a direct prequel to the next GT-R. In an interview with Autocar, Nissan design manager Darryl Scriven went on record saying, “I can’t talk about GT-R, but I can say the styling, the shapes, the volumes and the nuances here are something you will see in the future. There are cues on this car […] that will hint towards 2020.” Presumably the next GT-R is coming in 2020; quite a ways away.
In the meantime, Nissan’s Vision Gran Turismo Concept will be available for download on the PS3 sometime later this month, so it’s only a short wait for those of you aching to get behind the virtual wheel.
