Most concept cars are designed to sit on a motorshow stand and never turn a wheel in anger; CGI transforms them into living, moving machines if needed. The new Genesis X Gran Berlinetta VGT is one such pixel-only project, one that’s aimed at gamers who get their automotive fix through Polyphony Digital’s long-running Gran Turismo series.
Genesis X Gran Berlinetta: Best Game Changer
As a ‘Vision Gran Turismo’ car, the X Gran Berlinetta concept joins a prestigious virtual fleet that includes high-end designs from the likes of Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, and Bugatti, as well as extreme iterations of more everyday brands, including Audi, Citroën, Mazda, Nissan and many, many more.
Given the open-ended design brief, lack of regulations, real-world physics, and so on, it’s no surprise that VGT cars are an outlandish way to explore a brand’s design approach. The X Gran Berlinetta is no different, lowered, stretched and smoothed out in an extreme expression of the company’s ‘Athletic Elegance’ design philosophy, with a pared-back, race car-inspired interior.
Look hard, and the company’s familiar wing-shaped grille and parallel headlight blades are all present and correct, as are the bold, exaggerated curves, highlighted by the vivid Magma orange finish.
Genesis reckons that in the real world there’d be a mid-mounted V6 and hybrid system to turn the wheels. Although that might never happen – and some Vision GT cars have become fully functioning cars – the dramatic form language will certainly filter through to future Genesis models.
The Genesis X Gran Berlinetta is available to drive now in Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo 7, Gran-Turismo.com, Genesis.com
A version of this article appears in the February 2024 issue of Wallpaper* – dedicated to the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024 – available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today
