GT by Citroën
| Industry | Video game development |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| Products | Gran Turismo series |
The GT by Citroën (occasionally written as GTbyCitroën) is a concept sports car that made its first appearance on October 2 at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. This vehicle is the result of a partnership between the French automaker Citroën and the Japanese racing simulation company Polyphony Digital. Originally, six units were intended for production with a suggested retail price of $2,100,000; nevertheless, the manufacturing plans were reportedly abandoned in 2010 due to excessive expenses.
Collaborative effort
The GT by Citroën was developed expressly for inclusion in the video game Gran Turismo 5, accessible via download in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The concept was conceived by its designer, who subsequently licensed it to both Polyphony Digital and Citroën.
Citroën's role
The exterior styling was crafted by Takumi Yamamoto, a Japanese designer affiliated with Jean-Pierre Ploué's Style Citroën team. Yamamoto has been a longtime friend of Kazunori Yamauchi, the head of Polyphony Digital and creator of the Gran Turismo franchise. Their collaboration began in 2003 and was formalized after discussions at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. Yamamoto convinced Jean-Pierre Ploué to present the concept at Citroën’s headquarters in Paris, where approval was granted for producing a physical version of the car. The rear design was engineered to reflect the in-game vehicle’s high-performance capabilities, highlighting the synergy between gaming and automotive design.
Polyphony Digital's involvement
Renowned as a premier developer of racing simulation games with over 50 million copies sold since 1998, Polyphony Digital has worked extensively alongside Japanese performance parts manufacturers and tuning companies, mainly focusing on Nissan models since 2002. Notable collaborations include aerodynamic component development for the Nismo Fairlady Z s-tune (2002), Nismo Skyline Coupé (2004), Amuse S2000 Street Version (2003), and the Opera Performance's show car Carmate Opera Z (2005). They also contributed to exterior styling for the Amuse S2000 GT1 (2005) and created graphics for the Formula Nippon racing team Impul (2006).
Several of these vehicles have been featured virtually within the Gran Turismo series as "Concept by Gran Turismo." Some components designed by Polyphony, such as the full aero kit from the Carmate Opera Z, were manufactured and marketed by Japanese tuner Opera Performance under the name 350Z RS aero kit. More recent projects include designing the interior elements of the Nissan GT-R Multifunction Meter device (2007) and aero parts for the Amuse GT1 Turbo (2008). The GT by Citroën initiative marks a substantial progression in Polyphony Digital’s design and manufacturing expertise.
In-game details
Since its introduction in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, three different variants of the GT by Citroën have appeared in Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo Sport:
- Road version – ,
- Gr.4 version – ,
- Race/Gr.3 version – ,
- Concept version – ,
The concept model is equipped with a battery that powers four electric motors generating . Within Gran Turismo Sport, players can access only the road and race versions (Gr.3 class, comparable to Group GT3), along with a slightly altered Gr.4 racing edition (equivalent to GT4 class).
In reality
The actual vehicle is equipped with a customized Ford Modular V8 gasoline engine, producing . Its overall weight is .
Manufacturing
In June 2009, Citroën revealed intentions to manufacture an extremely limited edition of just six GT units for the public, each carrying a price tag of $2.1 million. By July 2010, speculation arose regarding the halt of production, attributed to the substantial engineering and development expenses in relation to the minimal production quantity.
Appearances
This car made its initial appearance in the Gran Turismo franchise and has been featured regularly since then. It also appeared in the now-defunct Facebook game Car Town, marking its sole appearance outside the GT series until it was included in Asphalt 8: Airborne during the 2016 Autumn Update. Subsequently, it was added to Asphalt 9: Legends with the Full Throttle Update released in December 2020 for iOS, Android, and Windows platforms.
In November 2019, the GT was introduced into The Crew 2 as part of the complimentary "Blazing Shots" update; however, the vehicle’s livery no longer displayed the Gran Turismo branding, retaining only its signature checkerboard design.