Volkswagen has turned the virtual world into reality by revealing the GTI Roadster concept at the Wörthersee GTI meeting in Austria.
The GTI Roadster was originally created as a purely electronic car, to feature in the Sony PlayStation 3 game, Gran Turismo 6 (GT6). The result of a design collaboration between Volkswagen and Sony, the GTI Roadster is the work of three young Volkswagen designers, winners of an in-house competition to design a vehicle to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Gran Turismo game.
Unconstrained by the constraints of production models – for example feasibility and price – designers Malte Hammerbeck, Domen Rucigaj and Guillermo Mignot came up with a winning design that was selected by Klaus Bischoff, head of design at Volkswagen, and Kazunori Yamauchi from Sony, the creator of the Gran Turismo series.
The GTI Roadster draws on last year’s Wörthersee car, the Design Vision GTI, but with an even more beefed-up design. Its 2,494 mm wheelbase is 137 mm shorter than that of the production Golf GTI, and also shorter than the wheelbase of the Design Vision GTI. The GTI Roadster’s minimal height of 1,090 mm and width of 1,894 mm versus its overall length of 4,158 mm help create extreme proportions.
Power comes from a 3.0-litre V6 biturbo TSI engine that produces 496 bhp, and maximum torque of 413 lb-ft from 4,000 and 6,000 rpm. Some 369 lb-ft of torque is available from 2,000 rpm.
The power is delivered via a seven-speed DSG gearbox and 4MOTION four-wheel drive, helping to propel the 1,420 kg GTI Roadster from zero to 62 mph in just 3.6 seconds, and on to a top speed of 190 mph. Stopping power comes via ceramic brakes that nestle behind 8.5 J x 20-inch wheels with 235/35 tyres at the front and 9.5 J x 20-inch wheels with 275/30 tyres at the rear.
The exterior of the car is painted a new colour, called “Gran Turismo Red”, while the interior features black- and anthracite-coloured sections, contrasted by classic GTI red on the stitching and also on the five-point safety harnesses.
While there are no plans for production, players of GT6 will be able to download the virtual GTI Roadster from mid-June.
Source: Volkswagen
