If you think the lines between reality and virtual reality seem to be blurring, you may be right. INFINITI has recently built a full-size concept car based on the INFINITI Vision GT racing car found in Sony’s PlayStation game, Gran Turismo 6. This virtual reality racing game is Sony’s best-selling PlayStation video game, with more than 70 million units sold worldwide since its introduction.
The Vision Gran Turismo series was a concept in which Sony invited car companies to design virtual race cars, complete with performance specs, to compete in its GT6 game. INFINITI was one of the carmakers asked to design a GT racing car for the game back in 2013. Since then the INFINITI Vision Gran Turismo has become a very popular car among PlayStation racers. Now, this exquisitely-designed racecar has made the leap from virtual reality to an actual metal form.
Creating the Physical Version of a Virtual Racer
A design team of 30 led by 29-year old designer Jeremy Liu, took about 8 months to create this full-scale model of the INFINITI Vision Gran Turismo. It was Liu’s design that INFINITI chose for the game version, so he was also given the task of bringing it to life. The team of 15 in INFINITI’s Beijing design studio where Liu works, and another 15 worldwide, built the car to match the online version’s sleek but aggressive lines and ultra-low stance.
The sharp nose, wide grill and audacious styling cues give the Vision Gran Turismo a look that is part beauty and part beast. Although this car isn’t intended to ever be produced or driven, it represents the direction by executives within the company to designing vehicles that are futuristic and unmistakably INFINITI.
INFINITI’s Commitment to Worldwide Markets
In recent years INFINITI has opened four global design studios, including the one in Beijing where the Vision Gran Turismo was designed. The idea is to better understand what local markets are looking for and to design vehicles to meet that demand. China for example currently represents only 15-percent of INFINITI global sales, while the U.S. makes up 65-percent. INFINITI President Roland Krueger has stated that he plans to turn China into INFINITI’s biggest market within the next 15 years.
Other INFINITI design studios that have recently been opened include one in London, U.K., a design studio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and a third in San Diego, California. All of these design studios are intended to bring elements that are relevant in regard to the vehicle tastes for each area.
Here at INFINITI of Coconut Creek, we’re just happy that INFINITI keeps making vehicles that are unique in their design elements, elegantly crafted and exquisitely built. The same criteria that goes into designing a futuristic vehicle like the Vision Gran Turismo is what makes INFINITI production cars so special. The detail and features that spring forth from the minds of such talented designers as Mr. Liu are what will keep INFINITI vehicles at the forefront of automotive design for years to come.
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