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.
Adrian Newey's X1 Prototye For GT5 Fully Revealed from Amine kounista on Vimeo.
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?
[source:
gran-turismo.com]
