The latest thing in the automotive industry is making cars that aren’t cars. Well, that aren’t real cars, anyway. Mitsubishi has joined Mercedes (AMG Vision Gran Turismo), BMW (Vision Gran Turismo), and VW (the killer GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo Concept) in releasing info on its submission for Sony’s Gran Turismo 6 video game, which it calls the Concept XR-PHEV Evolution Vision Gran Turismo.
The car’s shape takes its cues from Mitsu’s cool XR-PHEV plug-in hybrid crossover concept that debuted last year at the Tokyo auto show, and wears a grille that Mitsubishi is already describing as both “iconic” and “a study of next generation Mitsubishi automobiles.” So we guess that means we’ll be seeing more of this face in future Mitsus, which is okay by us.
The virtual concept rides on 20-inch wheels pushed so far outboard of the main bodywork that they appear to make the car wider than it is long. Other cool elements include a basket-handle taillamp bar/spoiler and the T-shaped rear wing sprouting from the hatchback, and the car features more grillework than a Weber catalog.
Powering the carbon-fiber-bodied fantasy car is a plug-in hybrid powertrain; output remains undisclosed but is presumably quite high. An eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox does the shifting, and all four wheels do the driving.
Not lost on us, of course, is Mitsubishi’s use of the word “Evolution” in this car’s name, which makes sense both from a gaming standpoint—what other Mitsubishi would you want to drive in fantasyland than an Evo?—as well the possibility that it could inspire the next Evo. Indeed, we could see Mitsu adapting this for a future Evo design, which we hope would come with the same hatchback profile. About that PHEV business: While the current Evo is effectively dead as a gas-powered car, Mitsu has already hinted that it could come back with partial electrification. Only time will tell if and when the Evo will retuen, and if it will look at all like this.
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Meanwhile, if you want to take this beast for a spin on your PS3, it’s available now. After you’ve updated your installation of GT6 to version 1.08, the car can be purchased from the “Vision GT” area within the Cars section. Or you can just complete a lap in the current Seasonal Event, which will be open only for a limited time.
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