This is a real car from Jaguar, but simultaneously it doesn’t exist outside the realm of the virtual, calling into question its legitimacy. The British automaker, or rather its team of designers, penned this car for an appearance in the Gran Turismo Sport video game.
It’s called, aptly, the Jaguar Vision Gran Turismo Coupe and announced as the company’s “first virtual all-electric sports car”, which is more or less a meaningless proclamation given that it doesn’t exist nor need to conform to the pressures of real world limitations.
The timing of this announcement is also a little strange given that it’s been a while since we last saw any automaker reveal a ‘Vision Gran Turismo’ concept, with which developer Polyphony Digital will then include into their latest racing simulator game.
Jaguar says that the car’s slender design and various cues are a callback to the marque’s most iconic race-bred cars such as the C-Type, D-Type, and E-Type, particularly with its sculpted fenders and profile. We do not see this resemblance, but perhaps that’s down to perspective.
“This was the dream project for a car designer, creating a futuristic sports car for Gran Turismo means our designs and ideas could be truly limitless. It has to excite future generations and most importantly, look and feel unmistakably Jaguar.” - Oliver Cattell-Ford, Exterior Designer, Jaguar Advanced Design.
Being electric and not having a combustion engine to dictate certain packaging constraints, Jag’s Vision GT Coupe has taken a somewhat unconventional route to optimal aerodynamic performance and mechanical dynamics. Each wheel has been pushed as far as possible to the corners and the cockpit is accessed through a fighter-style fold-out canopy.
The virtual EV is constructed of ‘experimental’ lightweight materials, such as ‘virtual’ advanced aluminium alloys and ‘virtual’ carbon fibre for its monocoque, tipping the ‘virtual’ scales at just 1,400kg despite the heavy weight penalty of the dense battery.
In these images, the body takes on a liquid metal-like quality but also hides integrated deployable active aerodynamic elements to optimise airflow while generating maximal downforce.
Jaguar says the Vision GT Coupe takes the technology and lessons learned from the Panasonic Jaguar Racing Formula E Team and I-PACE eTROPHY cars. The rear wheels are powered by two motors while the front axle is supplied by one. Altogether, the trio endows the car with a combined output of 750kW and 1,200Nm. In-game, 0-100km/h takes less than 2 seconds while top speed is north of 320km/h.
Inside, the car does its best to combine Jag’s race heritage with their current collection of design watchwords - a selection that includes “progressive luxury, driver focus, and stunningly intricate details”. This is a purely virtual concept, after all, so permit Jaguar to also inject a healthy element of fantasy in here.
How else to explain the on-board artificial intelligence that is said to occupy the car’s circuitry, who is meant to bridge the interface divide between machine and driver. Her name is ‘KITT-E' and she takes the form of an anthropomorphic feline in race overalls. Amusing and concerning.
Finally, despite it being a fully electric racer, Jaguar has elected to give the Vision GT Coupe a soundtrack of some kind - for whatever good that’ll do on track. According to them, this was achieved by working off of professionally recorded samples from the 3.8-litre XK engine of the 1957 D-Type ‘603’ Longe Nose, edited and digitally morphed into “a futuristic and distinctive electric soundtrack”.
For more on Jaguar cars, check out our Showroom.
