Toyota Press Release: FT-1 Concept Coming to Gran Turismo 6 on January 14

[JT]

Fabulous Toyota FT-1 Concept Is Ready to Drive January 14

Stunning FT-1 Concept Vehicle Available January 14 as a Download for PlayStation®3 Exclusive Gran Turismo® 6
Gran Turismo game engine used to pitch FT-1 concept to Toyota management
High Performance FT-1 concept embodies Toyota’s vision for ultimate track-focused coupe

January 13, 2014
From Virtual to Reality? Toyota FT-1 Concept Sets the Pace for Future Design
Toyota’s Calty Design Research Celebrates Its 40th Year and a Rich Sports Car Design Heritage

DETROIT, Michigan (Jan. 13, 2014) – It seems the virtual world continues to delight us with experiences not yet available in the real world. Beginning January 14, the stunning Toyota FT-1 concept will be available as a downloadable vehicle for PlayStation®3’s Gran Turismo 6 (GT6) real driving simulator. Race fans and the gaming community can experience FT-1 exclusively in GT6, where the FT-1 was created digitally to realistically demonstrate what a production FT-1 could achieve.

“Thanks to the amazing capability of the Gran Turismo game engine, gamers can enjoy a very real simulation piloting the ultra-high performance FT-1 on the tracks it was designed to master,” said Kevin Hunter, President of Calty Design Research, the group responsible for the FT-1design.

As part of the pitch process to top management that saw the FT-1 concept selected for construction and display on the international auto show circuit, Calty sought a way to help key executives (including Akio Toyoda) better experience the concept. Calty approached Polyphony about utilizing the Gran Turismo game physics to help create a driving simulator experience that could physically communicate the performance and emotion of the high-performance concept. For the day of design selection, the Polyphony team was able to bring the Toyota FT-1 to life in a virtual world that captured the excitement, passion, and performance conveyed by the concept model.

This exciting concept is a spiritual pacecar for Toyota’s future design direction. Penned by enthusiast designers at Toyota’s Calty Design Research facility in Newport Beach, California, the vibrant concept represents Toyota’s vision of the ultimate high-performance sports car. Its name is derived from Future Toyota (FT), and the number “1” as in ultimate. The unparalleled physics engine in GT6 will bring the FT-1 to life for a gaming community eager to get behind the wheel of this aggressive, track-focused, visionary sports car concept.

Gran Turismo continues to be at the forefront of development with the world’s most recognized automotive brands, pushing the racing simulator beyond gaming’s boundaries to affect the broader automotive industry as a whole. GT6, the latest iteration of the best-selling franchise, comes complete with the most realistic physics engine and massive online functionality, while offering a staggering collection of more than 1,200 of the world’s best cars and 37 tracks – with many of those cars coming first to GT6 thanks to unique partnerships like the one with Toyota.

"It’s always been a dream of ours to have our automotive partners use Gran Turismo in exciting new ways," said Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of Gran Turismo and President of Polyphony Digital Inc. “The design team at Calty developed a stunning concept car and we were honored to work with them to render the car digitally for the concept presentation. The FT-1 is a forward-looking, technically advanced and beautiful concept car. We can’t wait to see fans’ reactions as they drive the vehicle and get to know it the way I was able to.”

Owners of GT6 will be the first to test-drive the FT-1 as a free online update beginning January 14. Upon downloading the latest update, a unique seasonal event featuring the Toyota FT-1 will be made available in the game. Receive a bronze or better in the FT-1 challenge at Laguna Seca and you will receive the car. Drivers will also be able to purchase the vehicle from the Toyota dealership in the simulator without having to complete the seasonal event.

In addition to the creation of the FT-1 in GT6, Toyota is also represented in the groundbreaking Vision Gran Turismo project. A celebration of the franchise’s 15th anniversary, the project invites leading brands to design their vision of the future of driving. The resulting concepts will be released exclusively on GT6 throughout the year.

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[Respek]

Oh this is going to be awesome.

 

[supraninja]

If this is what sold Akio Toyoda I can't wait to see how it drives in the game. Hopefully they have some specs too...

 

[FT1freddy]

Like I needed another reason to go out and get the game

 

[divinesteer]

Wonder if there will be any cosmetic changes or a race version of the FT1? That would be cool if they used this to show off a few different looks/colors.

 

[Mr. M]

The game has the FT-1 at between 485 to 518 horsepower. I'm sure the production would not be that high but it's good to see Toyota is setting expectations high......unless of course they end up disappointing everyone with a sub 400 engine

If you've driven the FT-1 in Gran Turismo 6 you'll be able to see that according to the game, the FT-1 weighs in at 2,910 pounds and initially packs 485 horsepower. What's interesting is that after the first oil change the horsepower rating bumps up to 518 horsepower. The game still doesn't reveal what kind of engine the FT-1 has, but according to some users, it sounds like an inline six-cylinder.

 

[Raptorman]

Wow watch out corvette!

 

[Mr. M]

They probably using the C7 as a benchmark with these specs. I'd love to see Toyota throw down the gauntlet strong against Chevy.

 

[Loyo911]

They say the FT1 is 10% bigger than it would be in production form just to make it more dramatic for show purposes. Using that formula the FT1 would be around 3200 pounds and a little more than 430 horses.

Id be pretty giddy with those specs

 

[910ps]

They say the FT1 is 10% bigger than it would be in production form just to make it more dramatic for show purposes. Using that formula the FT1 would be around 3200 pounds and a little more than 430 horses.

Id be pretty giddy with those specs

^Sorry that is totally random. 10% smaller does not mean 10% less power. They can pretty much make it what they want in the game.

 

[FRS-Man]

^Sorry that is totally random. 10% smaller does not mean 10% less power. They can pretty much make it what they want in the game.

Maybe not completely random. The FT-86 specs in Gran Turismo 5 turned out to be almost 20% smaller and 10% more powerful than the production FR-S.

2200# (GT5) vs. 2624# (FR-S)
221 hp (GT5) vs. 200 hp (FR-S)

 

[FRS-Man]

FWIW 20% weight difference for the FT-1 would mean a production car that is about 3500# and 10% less power is a 435-465 hp range.

 

[high roller]

I'm hoping it ends up lighter than that. 3500 is a little porky , that puts it heavier and less powerful than the c7.

 

[supraninja]

The game has the FT-1 at between 485 to 518 horsepower. I'm sure the production would not be that high but it's good to see Toyota is setting expectations high......unless of course they end up disappointing everyone with a sub 400 engine

It's just a concept fellas.... let's not get too excited just yet. Not to mention it is just a game.

For any kind of reliable specs to go off of we need to see one that is actually based on the future joint BMW platform and not just a design study.

 

[Mr. M]

It's just a concept fellas.... let's not get too excited just yet. Not to mention it is just a game.

For any kind of reliable specs to go off of we need to see one that is actually based on the future joint BMW platform and not just a design study.

Well it is all we have to go off of right now and being a concept for a future Supra it does give us an idea of what kind of aspirational goals they have for the MKV.

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