SRT Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo concept unveiled
Auburn Hills — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' high-performance SRT team didn't cut any corners when it came to developing its 2035 SRT Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo concept. Even if it is only for a video game.
Officials say the new digital supercar — to be released this summer for "Gran Turismo 6" on the Playstation 3 game console — was engineered and developed to the same standards as any SRT vehicle on the road. The entire vehicle design, from the driver position to the nearly flat layout of the V-10 engine, is intended to achieve the lowest possible center of gravity.
Fiat Chrysler head of global design Ralph Gilles, a self-proclaimed gamer, said while the vehicle was an opportunity for designers and the SRT team to showcase futuristic ideas, some aspects could be used in production vehicles.
"Clearly, there's forward-thinking here," he said Tuesday during a media event at FCA US LLC headquarters in Auburn Hills. "Whether the human body can handle what this car can do is a whole other discussion, but bits and pieces of it, even visually, are already starting to inspire what we're up to."
The design team actually created three versions of the single-seat, mid-engine hybrid supercar: "S" for street version at more than 1,000 horsepower with an auxiliary drive; GTS-R for racing at 1,450 horsepower; and the "experimental technology ultimate version X" at 2,590 horsepower and max torque of 895 pound-feet.
In real life, the human body actually couldn't handle the amount of power the top-end vehicles have. So the SRT team also designed a driver suit that allows a driver to handle the estimated 10 Gs of force.
The exterior look of the SRT Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo was born from an internal design competition that sought a futuristic interpretation of a high-performance Dodge. Designers worked on their sketches in their spare time, weekends and after-hours producing a flood of proposals
"As soon as we were given the brief, I immediately thought of our heritage vehicles," said Paul Hoste, a 26-year-old Jeep designer whose vehicle design was chosen for the game. "I wanted to do a design that paid homage to those vehicles. And the one that stood out to me was Viper … for the emotion, the attitude and the surfacing."
The vehicle features exposed carbon fiber, Viper-like hood air intake, sleek lights and five center-mounted exhaust pipes. It is the latest addition to the Vision Gran Turismo project where automakers, design houses and leading brands around the globe showcase special concept vehicles exclusively in Gran Turismo.
"Gran Turismo" developer Kazunori Yamauchi, who helped Fiat Chrysler unveil the car, said Fiat Chrysler really surprised him with the work they put into the SRT Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo.
"Of course, the exterior of the car is extreme," he said through a translator. "What's amazing is the technology that goes into the car is just as extreme."
mwayland@detroitnews.com
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