Porsche to reveal new-look art car look for Gran Turismo Vision concept as firm makes its debut at Gamescom

What’s real? All of it? None of it?

Published 24 August 2022

By David Mullen

Porsche is due to unveil a new-look version of its Gran Turismo Vision concept car at Gamescom in Germany this week featuring paintwork by one of Europe’s leading digital and street artists.

Making its first appearance at Gamescom, one of the world’s biggest public trade fairs for video games, the centrepiece of Porsche’s display will be the Gran Turismo Vision concept car, a design revealed towards the end of last year in advance of its appearance in March in the new Gran Turismo 7 video game.

Rather than just a static display, however, the appearance of the Gran Turismo Vision will change throughout the show as the Belgian-based street artist, Vexx, applies a new paintjob in his trademark bright cartoonish style.

Porsche Vision Gran Turismo to get new look

It’s here that the boundaries between reality and the virtual world begin to blur though, with attendees at the convention also being able to drive the new-look art car on Gran Turismo 7 simulators at the show.

Porsche revealed the virtual Vision Gran Turismo concept last November created in partnership with Gran Turismo’s parent company Polyphony Digital and with a design featuring “future-oriented versions of familiar Porsche design elements.”

Essentially, beyond some passing resemblance to the company’s Taycan model, the Vision Gran Turismo was a clean-sheet design for a virtual racing car, featuring not doors but a jet fighter-style canopy.

Some elements of the design — the height of the headlights, for instance — wouldn’t pass muster when it comes to real-world safety standards, but that didn’t stop Porsche from creating an actual non-virtual show car for display at events such as Gamescom.

With the body and monocoque made from materials such as carbon fibre and titanium, the real-life concept’s two-seat cabin contains an oblong racing-style steering wheel, surfaces trimmed in ‘vegan materials’ and a transparent instrument cluster using head-up display technology – in contrast to the in-game model, which uses futuristic holographic instruments.

Following its absence from the Gran Turismo franchise for nearly 20 years due to another arrangement with the Need for Speed series, Porsche made its first appearance in Gran Turismo in 2017 with the release of Gran Turismo Sport on the PlayStation 4 console.

The company says that its continuing appearance in the game as well as displays at events such as Gamescom highlights its commitment to what it sees as the increasingly important digital and e-sports world.

“Porsche has steadily expanded its commitment to the gaming and e-sports community in recent years — our appearance at Gamescom underscores this,” said Robert Ader, Chief Marketing Officer at the Stuttgart firm.

“We have reached an important milestone with the Vision Gran Turismo as the first sports car developed purely for a virtual space. By painting it, Vexx will now give the vehicle a completely new look as well.

“This is another way for us to showcase our enthusiasm for collaborations with creatives and the art scene, which we see as mutually enriching.”

The brand, Ader said previously with the first unveiling of the Vision Gran Turismo, now sees engagement with the virtual world of games and e-sports as a key part of its marketing mix and an essential way to engage with younger target groups and attract future customers.

Porsche isn’t the only company to have developed its own Vision Gran Turismo concept, with manufacturers such as Mercedes, Volkswagen, Jaguar, Citroën and McLaren all designing concept cars for the series over the years; none have thus far made it into production, though that’s about to change.

At Monterey Car Week in California last weekend, McLaren unveiled the Solus GT whose wild design (also featuring a jet fighter canopy like the Porsche) is based on the firm’s 2017 Ultimate Vision concept from Gran Turismo Sport. Though it won’t be road-legal, McLaren plans to build 25 examples for track use.

Although any kind of future production of the Porsche Vision Gran Turismo currently looks unlikely, it’s not impossible.