Ferrari's Vision Gran Turismo Is What its Le Mans Hypercar Wishes it Could Be

Image: Ferrari

Almost 30 automakers have contributed something to the Vision Gran Turismo initiative since it began back in 2013 with Mercedes. But the list has lacked one prominent name — some would say the most prominent. Over the weekend, Ferrari finally delivered a no-limits concept of its own, and it’s coming to Gran Turismo 7 later this month.

Work on the Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo started midway through 2019, Maranello’s Design Director Flavio Manzoni told GTPlanet. Since then, a lot has happened in the world of the Prancing Horse; the marque returned to top-flight sports car racing with a new Le Mans Hypercar, the 499P, and reinvigorated its supercar lineup with the 296 GTB and GTS.

Image: Ferrari

Ferrari’s Vision Gran Turismo clearly borrows some cues from the 499P on the outside, with similar light signatures in the front and back. Most everything in between, though, is unique. You get the sense that if Ferrari were to ever introduce a production version of the 499P, it’d look a little more like this.

Love that no matter how futuristic Ferrari gets, it’ll always throw in a few NACA ducts.Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment

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One notable similarity is the engine — in theory, anyway. Ferrari envisions the very same twin-turbo V6 powering the 296 series at the heart of this prototype, supplemented by three electric motors (as opposed to the Le Mans-challenger’s one). All told, Ferrari calculates a sum of 1,350 horsepower from the combined hybrid drive system.

Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Manufacturers like to advertise that concepts inform future production-intent designs. But when Ferrari says that, people tend to sit up and take notice. Manzoni told GTPlanet much the same about its Vision Gran Turismo machine:

“The idea was to create something that looks like a contradiction but it is not,” he continued. “We wanted to build something precise and sharp, but also organic. This contradiction makes something really special. It makes a new language and vocabulary that can inspire us in future years.”

“We wanted a kind of seamless effect between the inner and outer surfaces, to create an organic object where art and science merge together,” Manzoni explained.

Reading between the lines, the entire brief behind the design sounds vaguely reminiscent of Cadillac’s old “Art and Science” inspiration — only with more art and more science. The long canopy and overpronounced haunches over the wheels draws surprisingly close to Porsche’s VGT, which appears on the cover of the game. The razor’s edge-like heckblende out back creates a sharp contrast between the organic and mechanical, speaking to what Manzoni’s describing. It also draws a clear through-line to the 499P, which fans of the Scuderia are sure to appreciate.

Image: Ferrari

Technically, the Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo will arrive in GT7’s in-game dealership on December 23, just in time for Christmas. However, if you head into GT7 now and correctly answer the final Viewer’s Campaign question before Dec. 4, you’ll receive it automatically in your garage on Dec. 15. The answer to that question, by the way, is “Takuma Miyazono.”