Users of Gran Turismo 5 who have already installed the latest update can now discover a camouflaged version of the forthcoming Corvette C7 during the screensaver sessions of the game. The car is not yet playable but its appearance on the game suggests that GM might be planning to unveil its supercar using Polyphiny Digital's game. It's time to put your GT5's Blu-Ray back and have a closer look at the car by your self! Stay tuned for more information and don't forget to check out the video after the jump..
Polyphony digital, the company behind the Gran Turismo series, is no stranger to cooperating with car manufacturers and racing teams. Some of the most noticeable accomplishements by Kazunori Yamauchi's team are the dashboard display graphics for the R35 Nissan GT-R and designing the famous GT By Citroën supercar concept in cooperation with the French automaker. Now it's time for Adrian Newey's X1 Prototype to take shape in the real world. There is no word if they will actually build a working model of Newey's dream racer as the car you are seeing above is just a model. However, it's a good step towards making this car a reality. And if you want to see it in the flesh, the model will be unveiled to the public at the official GT5 Launch Party in Madrid.
Every year at the SEMA show, Kazunori Yamauchi, the father of the Gran Turismo series gives the GT award to his favourite customized car of the show. This year the honors go to Mark Stielow's custom 1969 Chevrolet Camaro which of course means that his car will also be included in Gran Turismo 5. Since the game is already on its way to being released to the public, this car might be available as downloadable content.
Mark Stielow's Custom 1969 Chevrolet Camaro is the first Camaro fitted with the 6.2L LS9 V8 engine from GM performance parts. The engine has been tuned to produce 700 Hp but that's not the end of the story. The car might look like a classic Camaro from the outside but under this classic body there is a whole new lot of changes including carbon-ceramic Brembo ZR1 Corvette disc brakes, C6 Corvette front suspension on the Art Morrison front subframe, front spoiler relocator kit, trick Rick's stainless gas tank, and coolers for the transmission and rearend.
Last week we could see the first leaked pictures of the much anticipated X1 Prototype for the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 racing simulation. Now Polyphony Digital have released a full set of pictures, a video of the car lapping the Nürburgring Gran Prix Circuit as well as the full technical specifications.
Design
The X1 Prototype is simply a design master piece. It's a cross between a jet fighter and a formula 1 car but it has its very own personality. It has a very smooth body designed for maximum aerodynamic effciency. And best of all, it has been imagined by master aerodynamic engineer and Red Bull Racing's chief technical officer, Adrian Newey which means in real life it would be winning races...
Performance
With a wet weight of 615 Kg and a twin turbocharged 3.0L V6 producing 1483 Hp the X1 prototype can theorically achieve a 0 to 96 km/h (60 mph) time of 1.4 seconds, with the 193 Km/h (120 mph) mark coming right after another 1.4 sconds and by the time a Camaro V6 reaches 60 mph in nearly 6.1 seconds, the X1 protype would already be at 320 km/h (200 mph). At that speed, the car is capable of achieving as much as 960 kilograms of down force. This allows the X1 to corner at unbelievably high speeds and virtually achieve a lap time of 1 minute 4 seconds in the Nürburgring Gran Prix circuit! To see Sebastian Vettel perform this astonishing lap, watch the video below.
Can they really make it?
Adrian Newey says yes. In fact, he describes the X1 as an evolution,"..delivering the optimum combination of tested technologies in a single integrated design." And that's because most of the elements included in this car have already been tested on protypes or race cars in the past. Technologies like the famous "Fan Car" which sucks the air flow beneath the car body to reduce its pressure and generate massive amounts of downforce, ride height suspension, variable transmission as well as active aero parts already exist or have existed on several race cars and even road cars.
Will it be as fast in real life?
If they can achieve 1483 Hp out of a direct injected twin turbo 3.0L V6 engine, then i don't see why a 615 Kg car propelled by such an engine woudln't go like a rocket!
Will it be drivable in real life?
You certainly need too much talent to drive an F1 car like Sebastian Vettel. But this car is so fast that it has reached the limit of what a human being body can take. If you are piloting a jet fighter at thousands of meters of altitude, it might not be a big deal to turn a second later. But if you do it on a track on the wheels of the X1 prototype, you'd be hitting the wall at 400 Km/h... Would you drive it?
After the game has been delayed again just two weeks ahead of its official launch date, Gran Turismo fans around the world just couldn't wait any time longer to know how the much anticipated X1 Prototype looked like. Luckily the guys at GTPlanet got their hands on the first leaked set of pictures of the car. Designed by Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing's Chief Designer, the X1 Prototype is supposed to break all the barriers of limitation fixed by current Formula 1 regulations.
No matter how realistic GT5 is, don't forget that this racer still belongs to the virtual world. However it's interesting to see how two brilliant minds likes Adrian Newey and Kazunori Yamauchi imagined this car. So here's a quick tour of the technology used and the virtual performance numbers:
Power comes from a gas turbine developping 1483bhp and 527lb ft of torque. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels through a continuously variable transmission. The weight of the car is just 545 kilograms. This allows Newey's Dream racer to virtually lap the Suzuka circuit in 1:11.450 in the hands of Sebatian Vettel, 20 seconds faster than the fastest F1 lap around the same circuit. Top speed is nearly 400 Km/h (249 mph).
The car features the same livery as the current RB6 Formula 1 car. All four wheels are hidden and the driver cockpit is now nearly identical to a jet fighter's cockpit for maximum aerodynamic efficiency. However, there still are some formula One inspired aero elements like the front and rear wings as well as the side air intakes. Head on to GTPlanet to see the insane rear end of the car and don't forget to buy next month's issue of Car Magazine for more details.
If you want to see the teaser video again go back to this link.
With its outrageous styling and its particular lines, the GT by Citroën is one of its kind. But the fact that it was so unique, so futuristic, so unusual, didn't stop its designer Takumi Yamamoto from pushing the boundaries of his imagination even further by designing a race spec version. And it looks absolutely ferocious! The interior of the car had a similar treatment from the Polyphony Digital Team which wanted it to look like a modern jet fighter interior. Mission accomplished.
How about four of these on the Circuit de La Sarthe by night?
And that's not all. Polyphony digital was cooking something else for you, and it's called the X1 Prototype. Designed by none other than Formula One's current best designer, Mr Adrian Newey, the philosophy of this car is to go beyond restrictions and regulations. It's about creating a race car with no power nor aerodynamic restrictions. It's about creating the fastest, best handling machine while still obeying the laws of physics. To get a first glimpse of this car, check out the video below.
My favourite quotes about this car are:
"..the X1 is something new, created from a ‘what-if’ dream." - Kazunori Yamauchi
“This is the inspiration that brought Red Bull Racing and Polyphony together. And as a result the X1 Prototype is dynamite to drive.” - Adrian Newey
Here are some teasers..
On his first virtual lap with the X1 Prototype, Sebastian Vettel managed to beat Kimi Raikkonen's 2005 lap record by 20 seconds! This is without a doubt going to be one of the most extreme driving experiences that we have ever tried on a racing simulation.
This actually is the Red Bull Racing factory autoclave (and not a wind tunnel)
In my latest post, i was evoking the possibility that a wind tunnel could be integrated in Gran Turismo 5. It's obvious that i was being too optimistic. Nevertheless i still believe in such a wild idea, knowing that Kazunori Yamauchi the game's creator is always looking to reproduce every aspect of the racing world in the game. I don't have an idea about the proportions and the doability of such a project though.
The thing is, at a certain point of my post i was mentionning the presence of a wind tunnel in the video which was totally wrong because thanks to a very kind reader, now we know that the device featured in none other than the autoclave. So to avoid people's misinformation, i choose to write this clarification post.
An autoclave is basically a very big oven used during two stages of carbon fiber parts manufacturing: "de-bulk" and "cure".
- de-bulk: operated at lower temperatures, "which get the resin to the point where it flows and compacts the material down in the mould". - cure: "The cure is the process during which the carbon-fibre acquires its strength and stiffness".
Statements by: Colin Watts, Composites Manager. [source: F1technical]
The more popular wind tunnel is used to improve and analyse the car's aerodynamic properties. You can watch these two videos to campare the two processes.
In this video: the Red Bull Racing's factory autoclave
In this video: the Red Bull Racing's factory wind tunnel
Goind back to Gran Turismo 5, i found this interesting statement in the Red Bull Racing site:
"In this version, gamers will get the chance drive the Nordschleife, try out the Top Gear test track and unlock a special car which... well, let's just say Adrian Newey is involved as is Sebastian Vettel and they both met the game's designer Kazunori Yamauchi in Milton Keynes earlier this year."
This really strengthens the possibility of integrating the Red Bull F1 car in the game.
Thanks for "Anonymous" and JvM from GTplanet. (or maybe the same person)
[source: Red Bull Racing] ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
The latest video released by Polyphony Digital in the 2010 edition of the E3 show, that you can watch again below, shows us a great number of new features that will be included in Gran Turismo 5 like damage rendering, night racing, day/night transition during races, the Top Gear test track and the Stig, perfectly modeled cars interiors, more than astonishing graphics and... the Red Bull Technology Center.
Now here's the bit that's very much less talked about: What does Adrian Newey and Sebastian Vettel do in this trailer which usually only shows in game footage. Now here's my theory (that you can also throw against the wall and pass your way):
At 1:52 we hear Sebastian Vettel saying "...easily reach 400 Km/h..." (or something like that) then we see Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing's Technical Cheaf and an expert in aerodynamics and aeronautics explaining what must be something really technical to Kazunori Yamauchi, the creator of the GT series who seems really focused. Then we see a wind tunnel gate being closed then transformed into a perfectly modeled virtual one, with something laying the other side. Was it the Red Bull F1 car? Was Sebastian mentionning the maximum air flow speed through the wind tunnel? Will it be possible for us players to improve the cars' aerodynamics in a virtual wind tunnel? Design our own F1 cars? Kazunori Yamauchi already said that the final game is totally worth all this waiting, but will it be that good!
Okay, maybe i'm going too far with this... I'm wainting for your contributions!
EDIT: The device featured in the first picture of this post is actually an autoclave. Head on to this link for more clarifications.
First of all you need to know that the orange Dodge Challenger you're seing in the picture above is not real (or is it?), it's a snapshot from the much anticipated Gran Turismo 5 driving simulator (what video game?) by Polyphony Digital.
Apparently the game is now confirmed for November the 2nd 2010 but don't take it too much for granted as we all know the previous titles had too much delays after the official release dates were published. But you're not gonna complain about that anymore once you've watched the video below. In fact, the more we get to see new features about GT5, the more we wonder about what we still haven't seen yet and i can assure you there's a lot more... Like the mysterious wind tunnel that's been making short appearences in the latest GT5 trailers. Stay tuned!
However let's have a look at the new stuff. Night racing is confirmed once again but this time we have the chance to see some night rallying, a total success. We also learn from this video that the Stig him self will be represented in GT5. We've also seen a great implication from the Red Bull F1 Team members Sebastian Vettel and Adrian Newey, what are they preparing for us? only time will tell. There's a lot more in the video below, enjoy and be patient!
Whether you like NASCAR or not, this video will blow you away by the level of realism achieved by Kazunori Yamauchi and his team. The cameras, the crowds, the crashes as well as the very realistic interior view are truly similar if not identical to a NASCAR race as you see it broadcasted on TV. However, even if we saw Jeff Gordon's car crushing, the damages are still not showing on the car. Since we still have to wait sometime before we get our hands on the final version, we hope we will get a glimpse of that.
