The Toyota FT-1 is the second car to come out of Polyphony Digital’s Vision Gran Turismo project.
Toyota’s FT-1 was designed with help from the PlayStation 3 driving simulator Gran Turismo, it has emerged. Design studio Calty, which was given the task of crafting the concept car, said the 3D visualisation helped secure approval from Toyota president and CEO Akio Toyoda.
Calty enlisted the help of Polyphony Digital to make a video game demo of the car in action, which was used to get the concept approved. “Akio actually drove the car when we presented it to him,” Calty president Kevin Hunter told the Verge. The project was approved shortly after.
Initially the FT-1 game model was built for Gran Turismo 5 because Gran Turismo 6 was still in development. 18 to 20 months of work went into the design, 85 per cent of which was tweaked before arriving at the car unveiled at the 2014 Detroit motor show.
The FT-1 was never designed with a video game in mind, Calty admitted, but said being able to see the car in action – as opposed to relying on static models – proved helpful. “Gran Turismo is somewhat of a simulator, so it allows us to see the car in its environment,” Calty chief designer Alex Shen said.
All those air vents, scoops and sharp edges are there to help it perform like the “ultimate sports car” Toyota wants it to be. A technique called function sculpting was used to make the FT-1 look like it was sculpted by the air.
The Toyota FT-1 concept car can be unlocked in Gran Turismo 6 by downloading a free online update that adds a new event. Secure at least a bronze in said event and the car is all yours.
Mercedes-Benz became the first manufacturer to design a car specifically for Gran Turismo 6 known as the AMG Vision Gran Turismo, which has since been built in an unofficial capacity.
Check out the FT-1 concept in Gran Turismo 6 below.
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