Meet Toyota’s amazing FT-1 racing concept

Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi is a very Top Gear sort of chap. For his latest gaming installment, Gran Turismo 6, he fired up the Bat signal to the world's car manufacturers, ordering them to design him a bespoke racing concept he could slot into the game.

We've already seen jaw-dropping entries from the likes of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Nissan, Aston Martin and Mitsubishi. And today, after last week's teasy teaser video, Toyota has revealed its ‘Vision Gran Turismo', and it looks good. Very good.

If the shape rings familiar, it's because this Vision GT is modelled on the stunning FT-1 sports car concept we saw at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this year, designed by those clever types at Toyota's CALTY studio in California.

CALTY studied real-world circuits and race cars to incorporate the necessary cooling and downforce addendums, designed by process of ‘function sculpting', which sounds vaguely sinister to us. Point is, it's all functional - or at least would be, if the VGT were real. Which it isn't. Still, it gets massive wheelarches, larger tyres, enlarged air intakes, front fins, a bigger rear diffuser and of, course, the obligatory MASSIVE WING.

"Toyota's original intention was for the FT-1 to appeal to die-hard car enthusiasts," Toyota tells us, "so it has been a natural progression for it to develop the concept to deliver an authentic racetrack experience for die-hard Gran Turismo fans."

The likelihood of this ever getting made? Medium-zero to flat-out ‘never'. But we know the ‘standard' FT-1 concept signalled the Japanese carmaker's attempt to get its sexy back. The possibility of an iteration of that car making production? A little more likely at least...

Speaking of which, Toyota has also taken this opportunity to reveal a ‘real-world' FT-1 concept car (pics 5-9, above). It's not a revolution over the concept we saw in Detroit - in fact, it's exactly the same as that concept, except this one gets new graphite paintwork instead of the original red, and a new saddle-tan interior leather inspired by superhero films. Yeah, us neither.

But still, it's a sign that Toyota is quite keen on its excellent super coupe. Make it now, Toyota. Call it a Supra. And we will all be your best fwiend.