GT by Citroën

GT by Citroën
Overview
Manufacturer	Citroën
Designer	Takumi Yamamoto
Body and chassis
Class	Sports carprototype
Body style	Two seater,mid-enginedcoupé
Layout	Four-wheel drive
Doors	Butterfly
Powertrain
Engine	In the game: 778 bhp (580 kW) x4 hydrogenfuel cell In real life: 646 hp (482 kW) 5.4LFordV8
Transmission	7-speed "circle" sequential gearbox
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,810 mm (110.6 in)
Length	4,960 mm (195.3 in)
Width	2,080 mm (81.9 in)
Height	1,090 mm (42.9 in)
Curb weight	1,400 kg (3,086 lb)

TheGT by Citroën(sometimes spelledGTbyCitroën) is a sports car that debuted as aconcept caron October 2 at the2008 Paris Motor Show.The car is a collaboration between the French automakerCitroënand the Japanese racing simulation developerPolyphony Digital.Six cars were expected to be built, with an expectedMSRPof $2,100,000; however, the production run was allegedly cancelled in 2010 due to high costs.

Design

Side view

Joint venture

The GT by Citroën concept car was specially created, designed and produced for the video gameGran Turismo 5and was included through download in its initial versionGran 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 fromJean-Pierre Ploué'sStyle Citroëndesign team. Takumi Yamamoto was a childhood friend ofKazunori Yamauchi,director of Polyphony Digital and creator of the popularGran Turismofranchise, 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 joint effort first talked about at theGeneva Motor Showpast 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 1998Polyphony Digital had collaborated with real life Japanese performance parts makers and tuners, mainly related toNissan,since January 2002. Notable collaborations include aero parts development for theNismo Fairlady Z s-tune(2002),Nismo Skyline Coupé(2004),Amuse S2000 Street Version(2003),Nismo Fairlady Z(2005),Opera Performance'sCarmate Opera Z(2005)Tokyo Auto Salonshow car. Polyphony Digital also did exterior design for theAmuse S2000 GT1(2005) and artwork design for theFormula Nipponracing teamImpulracer (2006).

Most of these cars had their virtual counterpart featured in theGran Turismogames 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, sideskirts, rear bumper and rear spoiler, were eventually manufactured and sold by Japanese tuner Opera Performance as the350Z RSaero kit.Latest collaborations include interior design of theNissan GT-Rwith the creation of the Multifunction Meter device(2007) and aero parts design for theAmuse GT1 Turbo(2008). The GT by Citroën project with its complete production process is a step further in design for Polyphony Digital.

Technical specifications

GT with the butterfly doors up

Rear view

In game

Ever sinceGran Turismo 5 Prologue,there have been three versions of the GT by Citroën. All specifications of each version are fromPolyphony Digital'sGran Turismofranchise,Gran Turismo Sport.

• Road version - 500 hp (373 kW; 507 PS), 384 lb⋅ft (521 N⋅m)
• Gr.4 version - 394 hp (294 kW; 399 PS), 283 lb⋅ft (384 N⋅m)
• Race/Gr.3 version - 599 hp (447 kW; 607 PS), 431 lb⋅ft (584 N⋅m)
• Concept version - 778 hp (580 kW; 789 PS), 1,840 lb⋅ft (2,495 N⋅m)

The concept version in the game features abatterypowering four electric motors delivering 778 hp (580 kW; 789 PS). InGran Turismo Sport,only the road and race version (christened as a "Gr.3" class race car, equivalent toGroup GT3class race car) is featured, in addition to a lightly-modified "Gr.4" racing version (equivalent toGT4class race car).

In real life

The real car uses a modified version of theFord Modular V8petrol/gasoline engine,producing 646 hp (482 kW; 655 PS)The car's weight is 1,400 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, citing excessive engineering and development costs relative to the size of the production run as the reason.

Appearances

The car made its debut appearance in theGran Turismoseries, and has continued on ever since, and it also had a non-Sony appearance in the discontinuedFacebook gameCar Town.ItsCar Townappearance marked its only non-GTappearance until its announcement inAsphalt 8: Airborneon September 30, 2016.It was added in the 2016 Autumn Update for the game released on October 13, 2016. It also was added inAsphalt 9: Legends,specifically, the Full Throttle Update, released on December 10, 2020 foriOSandAndroid,and on December 15 of the same year forWindows.

The GT was added toThe Crew 2as part of the free "Blazing Shots" update in November 2019, however the Gran Turismo logo has been removed from its livery and only the checkerboard pattern remains.

External links

• “GT-by-CITROEN” Concept revealed at Paris Motor Show
• GT by Citroën: The book of the making of