Interviews Team VVV visit Peugeot for the launch of the Onyx GT Vision

Last week Team VVV was invited to the Peugeot HQ just outside Central Paris to get a glimpse behind the scenes at their great creative minds at work and to officially launch the Onyx concept, this adding to the growing range of cars available in the GT Vision selection, which features all manner of their no-limits design philosophy.  

Personally I’ve always been a fan of true concept visions, cars that are impractical yet strangely impressive for all manor of reasons. Initially many designs look very much like bubble cars with the interior focusing on social technology and a more enjoyable ride but parallel to this are the more flowing philosophies generating an aerodynamic yet futuristic look combined with often larger wheels, the sort of design you would expect to take off in Back to the Future 2.

Of course while many concept cars never see the light of day, some do occasionally make it through to the prototype stage and even fewer make it to full production. Of course this process is hugely expensive requiring untold levels of investment, this leaving only the largest car companies the opportunity to see a design through to the final stage.

Arriving at the Peugeot facility and the main presentation room is hugely impressive, much like the London Planetarium, its lighting and roof give a wonderful feeling of space and a glorious stage to show off the many cars produced over the years. So it’s impressive that a video game has risen to point where car companies are actively involved and investing in projects directly. In that sense Gran Turismo has crossed the divide between gaming and reality, with the brand awareness and potential future sales influence so strong, that is can carry events and developments of this scale. With that in mind I was keen to understand how GT Vision is of value to all concerned and what the bigger picture was in where the concept of this selection of cars is going. With simulation feedback from a design and performance perspective gaining consumer feedback without the need to spend millions developing prototypes, it offers a new route to market for no-limits design without the need for practicality. This could also lead to more car companies taking up the mantle, especially as technology develops and visuals improve.

This time next week we’ll be deep into stacks of E3 content and GT7 is expected to be officially announced, no doubt we’ll see growth on every aspect of the franchise as it moves into its 4th generation development cycle. The battleground for top driving game has intensified over the years and continued success of the franchise is critical to future support, but with this level of backing it would be a brave many to prove Kazunori Yamauchi wrong. The future is coming and Gran Tursimo may just have the pieces in place to make their no-limits design a reality.

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