GT by Citroën
Encyclopedia
The GT by Citroën is a sports car that debuted as a concept car
Concept car
A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....

 on October 2 at the 2008 Paris Motor Show
2008 Paris Motor Show
The 2008 Paris Motor Show took place from 4 October to 19 October 2008, in Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles.This edition of the Paris Motor Show featured a high number of hybrid and electric vehicles , a tectonic shift that led a New York Times blogger to ask, "Who killed the non-electric cars?".-...

. The car is a collaboration between the French automaker Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...

 and the Japanese racing simulation developer Polyphony Digital
Polyphony Digital
Polyphony Digital, Inc. is an internal video game developing company of Sony Computer Entertainment and is part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios...

. 6 cars are expected to be built. The expected MSRP is $2,100,000.

Joint venture

The GT by Citroën concept car was specially created, designed and produced for the video game Gran Turismo 5
Gran Turismo 5
is the fifth edition of the Gran Turismo racing video game series. Developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, it was released for PlayStation 3 on November 24, 2010...

and was included through download in its latest version Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. Its designer came up with the project and sold it to both Polyphony Digital and Citroën.

Citroën

The car's exterior design was made by Takumi Yamamoto, a Japanese designer from Jean-Pierre Ploué
Jean-Pierre Ploué
Jean-Pierre Ploué is a French car designer, born in 1962, known for bringing the Citroën marque back to strength and restoring its reputation for innovation and strong individualistic styling.- Biography :...

's Style Citroën design team. Takumi Yamamoto was a childhood friend of Kazunori Yamauchi
Kazunori Yamauchi
is a Japanese game designer, professional racing driver, and most notably, CEO of Polyphony Digital and producer of the Gran Turismo series. He became the president of Polyphony Digital after designing his first game Motor Toon Grand Prix, a cartoon-inspired racing title similar to Mario Kart...

, director of Polyphony Digital and creator of the popular Gran Turismo
Gran Turismo (series)
is a popular and critically acclaimed series of racing simulation video games developed by Polyphony Digital.Developed exclusively for PlayStation systems, Gran Turismo games are intended to simulate the appearance and performance of a large selection of vehicles, nearly all of which are licensed...

 franchise, also known as "Gegge". According to a Yamauchi interview at the Paris Motor Show 2008, he and Yamamoto started collaborating on this project back in 2003. A press release published on the North American Gran Turismo official website describes the Citroën and Polyphony Digital collaboration as a « a joint effort first talked about at the Geneva Motor Show past March [2008] ». Yamamoto convinced Jean-Pierre Ploué to submit his concept to Citroën's head office in Paris who agreed to start the production process and manufacture the real car. The concept car's rear was carefully designed to fit what the gamers will actually see in the game since it is the more powerful featured vehicle, argues Yamamoto.

Polyphony Digital

As a world leading racing simulation developer shipping more than 50 million copies since 1998 Polyphony Digital had collaborated with real life Japanese performance parts makers and tuners, mainly related to Nissan, since January 2002. Notable collaborations include aero parts development for the Nismo Fairlady Z s-tune
Nissan 350Z
The Nissan 350Z is a two seat sports car that was manufactured by Nissan from 2002 to 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered production in late 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut...

 (2002), Nismo Skyline Coupé (2004), Amuse S2000 Street Version
Honda S2000
The Honda S2000 is a roadster that was manufactured by the Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. It was launched in April 1999 and was created to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary. The car was first shown as a concept at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1995, following which it was launched in...

 (2003), Nismo Fairlady Z
Nissan 350Z
The Nissan 350Z is a two seat sports car that was manufactured by Nissan from 2002 to 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered production in late 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut...

 (2005), Opera Performance's Carmate Opera Z
Nissan 350Z
The Nissan 350Z is a two seat sports car that was manufactured by Nissan from 2002 to 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered production in late 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut...

 (2005) Tokyo Auto Salon
Tokyo Auto Salon
The is an annual auto show held in January at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba City, Japan for Performance and custom dress-up parts and technology display. Hosted by the Nippon Auto Parts Aftermarket Committee ....

 show car. Polyphony Digital also did exterior design for the Amuse S2000 GT1
Honda S2000
The Honda S2000 is a roadster that was manufactured by the Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. It was launched in April 1999 and was created to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary. The car was first shown as a concept at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1995, following which it was launched in...

 (2005) and artwork design for the Formula Nippon
Formula Nippon
Formula Nippon is a type of formula racing and the top level of single-seater racing in Japan.Formula Nippon evolved from the Japanese Formula 2000 series begun in 1973 by way of the Japanese Formula Two and Japanese Formula 3000 championships...

 racing team Impul racer (2006).

Most of these cars had their virtual counterpart featured in the Gran Turismo games as "Concept by Gran Turismo". Some of the parts designed by Polyphony Digital such as the Carmate Opera Z's full aero kit including front bumper, sideskirt, rear bumper and rear spoiler, were eventually manufactured and sold by Japanese tuner Opera Performance as the 350Z RS aero kit. Latest collaborations include interior design of the Nissan GT-R
Nissan GT-R
The Nissan GT-R is a sports car produced by Nissan released in Japan on December 6, 2007, the United States on July 4, 2008, and the rest of the world in March 2009.-History:...

 with the creation of the Multifunction Meter device (2007) and aero parts design for the Amuse GT1 Turbo
Honda S2000
The Honda S2000 is a roadster that was manufactured by the Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. It was launched in April 1999 and was created to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary. The car was first shown as a concept at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1995, following which it was launched in...

 (2008). The GT by Citroën project with its complete production process is a step further in design for Polyphony Digital.

Technical specifications

The car in the game features a fuel cell
Fuel cell
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...

powering four electric motors delivering 780 bhp, however the real car has a FORD V8 petrol engine.. The car's weight is 1400 kg (3,086 lb).

Production

In June 2009, Citroën confirmed plans to produce an extremely limited number of GTs for sale to the public. Only 6 will be built, each costing $2.1 million. In July 2010, rumours that production was suspended began to surface.

External links

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