Genesis has announced its debut in Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Gran Turismo 7 (GT7) sim racing videogame series as an official manufacturer partner of the Gran Turismo World Series, an online global motorsport championship. GT7 is developed by Polyphony Digital Inc. and was recently released on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 consoles.
The luxury brand of the Hyundai Motor Group will make available to championship competitors the Genesis X GR3 and G70 GR4 concept vehicles, as well as the G70 Sport Sedan for the Manufacturer’s Cup.
“Genesis is pleased to be presenting the dynamic G70 sport sedan and our ambitious GR3 and GR4 concepts in Gran Turismo 7,” said SangYup Lee, Executive Vice-President and Head of Genesis Global Design Centre. “This platform allows fans of racing to get behind the wheel and discover the bold designs and performance ambitions of Genesis as we continue to explore the brand’s entry into motorsport.”
The X GR3 and G70 GR4 are concept vehicles which were shown last year when Genesis revealed the vehicle design process at an ultra-modern experiential installation called ‘The Performance of Design’ during Monterey Car Week. The two concept vehicles were part of a trio of models developed in collaboration with the creators of the Gran Turismo videogame series.
The X GR3 is based on the Genesis X Concept shown last year and reinterpreted in the Gr.3 racing specification. It is powered by a 3.3-litre V6 twin-turbo engine with 555 ps.
The G70 GR4 Gran Turismo, is a California-built 420 ps racing car derived from the Genesis coupe. It is a completely reimagined G70 sport sedan for competition with a GT-inspired racing package. Building on the existing G70 model to create a bold, yet elegant, high-performance racing car, it showcases the motorsport intent of the brand.
Other concepts under study are the GR1 Alpha_DB, GR1 Bravo_GB, and GR1 Charlie_ET, all of which are potential designs for a future Vision Gran Turismo Concept that will be an elite racing car.
Gran Turismo 7, the super-realistic sim racing videogame by Polyphony Digital/Sony Interactive Entertainment received its latest update recently. This follows the update in April which saw the addition of 3 new cars (2 Subaru BRZs and the Suzuki Cappuccino) and the 24-hour layout of Spa-Francorchamps.
With this update, players get another 3 new cars – the Roadster Shop Rampage, Toyota GR010 HYBRID ’21, and Suzuki Vision Gran Turismo. Additionally, new events have been added to the World Circuits, namely the Lightweight K-Cup, Vision Gran Turismo Trophy and Gr. 1 Prototype Series.
Toyota GR010 HYBRID ’21Roadster Shop Rampage
Suzuki Vision Gran Turismo
Of the 3 new cars, the Suzuki Vision Gran Turismo has been much anticipated. It showcases Suzuki’s expertise in both 2-wheel and 4-wheel products, highlighting the company’s involvement in both motorcycles and automobiles. Only a handful of companies can lay claim in mastering the two genres, and fewer still can boast international racing success in both.
Suzuki’s Vision Gran Turismo, which joins a number of other Vision Gran Turismo models from other many carmakers, was developed as a unique all-wheel drive super sportscar which fuses the company’s motorcycle and automotive know-how.
The 2-seater in the familiar yellow colour of the brand has a convertible bodystyle with a front-engine/rear-wheel-drive layout. It has a very powerful hybrid drivetrain consisting of the 1340 cc inline-4 petrol engine taken from the company’s flagship sports bike, the Hayabusa, and electric motors.
There are 3 electric motors – 2 in front and 1 at the back. The combined system output is shown as 318 kW/432 ps at 9,700 rpm with 610 Nm of torque.
During development of this virtual supercar, Suzuki employed much of its racing technology in the construction, using as many lightweight components as possible. As a result, the car weighs just in 970 kgs.
As for the styling, the Vision Gran Turismo’s low stance and flowing lines were inspired by popular Suzuki production sportscar models like the Swift Sport and Cappuccino.
This isn’t the first time Suzuki fitted its powerful Hayabusa engine into an automobile. In fact, the company used it to power the GSX-R/4, a mid-engine sportscar concept that was shown in 2001. With the Vision Gran Turismo, Suzuki is recalling memories of that legendary showcar while introducing the latest technology.
According to Polyphony Digital, there will also be a Gr.3 version of the Suzuki Vision Gran Turismo soon. That would certainly raise this classic sportscar formula to the next level.
The Vision Gran Turismo (Vision GT) project began 9 years ago when Polyphony Digital, the Japanese videogame developer famous for its Gran Turismo series, invited carmakers to design cars with no limits on technical specifications. The designers jumped at the opportunity and created some amazing cars which were close to fantasies and very futuristic. These cars were incorporated in the virtual world of Gran Turismo 6, which later became Gran Turismo Sport.
Since 2013, many carmakers have provided their designs and gamers around the world have chosen their favourite models to use in races. Jaguar has been among the participating companies, with two cars submitted – the original Jaguar Vision Gran Turismo Coupe and the extreme Vision Gran Turismo SV endurance racer.
Third Vision GT model
The British carmaker has now added its third all-electric virtual gaming sportscar – the Vision Gran Turismo Roadster. This is an all-electric single-seater which combines the race-proven powertrain from the Coupe with a taut, sculpted form inspired by the iconic, timeless Jaguar D-type.
The flowing surfaces, dramatic lines and perfect proportions of the first two Jaguar Gran Turismo Vision cars are instantly recognisable but, in place of a deployable canopy, the Roadster has a swept-back aero screen directly in front of the driver.
Behind, there’s a modern interpretation of the fin synonymous of the 3-time Le Mans-winning D-type, aerodynamically-optimised using the latest computational fluid dynamics tools to be deployable at speed for enhanced stability with minimal drag.
The fin also features one of the beautiful details to be found throughout the Roadster, the form of a Union Jack etched – using the Jaguar monogram pattern – into the fin itself, and subtly illuminated by LEDs. The theme continues with the hand-crafted leather straps on the front fenders and iconic roundel lights in the front grille.
Open-cockpit racing experience
The dramatic, driver-focused interior combines lightweight, luxurious materials and finishes with stunningly intricate details. Looking out onto the gracefully long bonnet with the unmatched all-round visibility inherent to open-cockpit racers, gamers will be fully immersed in the action.
The Roadster’s light, stiff monocoque body is expertly and meticulously crafted from carbon-fibre composites and advanced aluminium alloys. A state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery pack is packaged as low down in the structure as possible, contributing to the low centre of gravity, low roll centre and near 50:50 weight distribution that are fundamental to the car’s outstanding driving dynamics.
3 motors, 1,020 ps/1,200 Nm
The Roadster is designed to bring gamers the pure, visceral driving experience of an open-cockpit Jaguar sportscar. It is powered by 3 electric motors generating a total power output of more than 1,020 ps and instant, maximum torque of 1,200 Nm. Power from the battery is fed to the light, powerful and compact motors, developed using learnings from Jaguar Racing’s Formula E experience. Acceleration from 0 – 60 mph (96 km/h) is said to be under 2 seconds and a maximum speed in excess of 320 km/h is possible.
“As a car designer, being part of the team that has delivered three virtual cars for the Gran Turismo series has been a dream project. Since the reveal of the Vision GT Coupe in 2019 and Vision GT SV in 2020, we wanted to curate the perfect way to present the full line-up of the three cars together when we revealed the Roadster,” said Oliver Cattell-Ford, Exterior Designer, Jaguar Advanced Design.
Available in Gran Turismo 7
The Vision Gran Turismo Roadster is now available in the new Gran Turismo 7 for PS4 and PS5 consoles. In recognition of Jaguar’s three versions of their Vision GT car, the design team created new bespoke liveries of these cars, which are not directly available in GT7. These new liveries feature specially developed black and grey paints and subtle graphics which emphasise the cars’ inherently dramatic, beautiful designs. In GT7, players can re-create these new liveries using the Livery Editor feature.
Imagine telling your friend in America about driving along the scenic Temiang – Pantai Highway in Negeri Sembilan or the popular Ulu Yam road that leads to Genting Highlands on the Selangor/Pahang border. Then you send over a file which can be loaded onto their computer and they too can take a virtual drive along the same route as you did.
Until now, reproducing roads and racing circuits for computer games has required specialised software and skills and since the first ‘Test Drive’ simulator in the 1980s, the digital worlds on the screen have become more and more realistic. But they are still limited to whatever the game creator chooses, rather than the user.
Now Porsche is developing an innovative software solution in cooperation with Swiss start-up Way Ahead Technologies known as the Virtual Roads project which can make this a reality. The aim is to offer drivers the opportunity to quickly and easily record their favourite routes from real life and transfer them into a videogame.
Developing a new videogame can take months, if not years. For example, the tracks for racing simulators must be precisely scanned by experts using lasers before they can be digitalised. Porsche hopes to considerably accelerate this time-consuming process when Virtual Roads is ready to be launched.
In the future, the innovation project will allow drivers to record any route using a specific app on their smartphone which can be mounted behind the windscreen. The data can then be transferred automatically to the virtual world with software that converts the recordings of the road and surrounding area into a 3D environment. This process is expected to take less than 1% of the time (less than an hour) required by a conventional digitalisation process using lasers.
Driving the most beautiful roads virtually
“If you ask people what they think is the most beautiful road, everyone has their own, very personal route in mind. The characteristics of the topography are what make a route particularly attractive, regardless of whether it is a unique Alpine pass or a legendary coastal road,” said Robert Ader, Chief Marketing Officer at Porsche, whose department is responsible for the project. “We want to trigger these great memories with a much simpler digitalisation process that allows anyone to drive their favourite route virtually.”
The project is based on specialist software that uses technology such as artificial intelligence to capture a road and its surrounding features like dividers and trees. These characteristics are then reproduced as faithfully and quickly as possible in a digital 3D form. The programme, developed by Way Ahead Technologies, draws on an extensive graphics archive.
Imagery from the real world (top) recorded on a smartphone can be quickly converted into a digital scene (above) and then loaded onto a videogame simulator.
Data protection is an important element of the development process. The programme makes sure that other road-users are also ‘captured’ from real life and transferred into the virtual world. This is a similar type of measures as taken in Google Maps where vehicle numberplates, faces and anything with personal identification is obscured.
The virtual experience in a Porsche
The file for each unique route that is generated using the new application is currently compatible with a number of racing games including ‘Assetto Corsa‘, meaning that Porsche drivers and fans of the brand will have access to all the possibilities of the virtual world. The routes can be experienced again and again on any simulator equipped with the appropriate equipment or via a smartphone.
Drivers will be able to enjoy the trip along the beautiful mountain roads in Europe or as mentioned earlier, the drive along the Temiang-Pantai Highway – and so can their friends. The innovation project has another great advantage: even routes that are closed to the general public or only open on designated days can be experienced in a sportscar from Porsche and shared with others.
Racing games generally allow the user to choose any car for their virtual drive and the simulation is based on the power output and handling of the chosen vehicle. The characteristics of the route are also conveyed in the most realistic way possible. An appropriately equipped simulator mimics an uneven road surface with vibration, while drivers who approach a corner too fast will feel themselves slide off the road.
The Temiang-Pantai Highway in Negeri Sembilan which was opened last year.
Ambitious drivers can use the simulations to tackle particularly demanding routes in a sportscar, improve their lap times and compete with others without any risk to their lives. And another thing: they can also go faster than the speed limits for the highway with getting caught by a speed camera! The technology can also be used for a wide range of other scenarios as well.
“After several years of development work, our software is now so advanced that it can digitalise routes for virtual roads of up to 8 kilometres long in less than an hour, depending on how complex the route is,” revealed Roger Rueegg from Way Ahead Technologies. “We’re also looking at other options and functions at the moment. For example, data from the sensors that measure lateral acceleration and chassis control could also be recorded and used in the future”.
While systems like Proton’s GKUI, Ford’s SYNC and the Mercedes-Benz MBUX can intelligently communicate with you and help you with your motoring nowadays, cars have been ‘speaking’ to drivers for a long time. This has been in the form of clicks, beeps, bells or buzzers, with the earliest sound was probably the clicking of the signal lights.
As time went on, other warning sounds were added. For example, if a passenger does not put the seatbelt on, a sound of some sort will provide a reminder. Or when the fuel level gets too low, there will be a warning so the driver will start looking for a petrol station. Japanese cars, from the 1970s, even had a chime that would sound when the speed passed 100 km/h.
In most cars, there is a seatbelt warning light on the instrument panel and usually a sound to remind the occupants that their seatbelt is not on when the vehicle starts moving.
Higher quality warning and reminder sounds
The familiarity of the sounds can be important so that virtually any driver will recognise their meaning. At the same time, they need to be ‘right’ so that the driver will respond in the correct way. While most companies use generic sounds, Nissan has teamed up with experts at the Bandai Namco Group to develop in-car sounds for the latest and future Nissan models such as the Rogue, Pathfinder, Note and Qashqai.
The Bandai Namco Group is the entertainment company that developed videogame classics like Pac-Man and Tekken, and also the Gundam sci-fi military hobby items. Their expertise was called upon to help create a higher quality sound that uses pitch, tempo and tone to get information across. Ultimately, Nissan wants the ‘voice’ of its vehicles to have more personality and character.
Nissan is working with Bandai Namco, the creators of the Gundam characters and toys (and earlier, Pac-Man), to develop better sounds for use in future car models.
“We wanted to make it easier to understand the information in the car and provide an emotional tone so that people feel the Nissan brand,” said Hiroyuki Suzuki, Nissan’s lead engineer for in-car information sound design. “In game development, Bandai Namco’s sound creators develop sounds that simulate players’ intuitive understanding. We collaborated to create sounds that can help drivers have a similar intuitive understanding, in addition to creating sounds that will become synonymous with Nissan’s global models.”
Developing informational sounds
There is psychology involved in the design of informational sounds. And who knows better than the sound designers of videogames? “There are two types of sound in a game: one creates the world view of the story and express how it develops; the other is functional and absolutely vital for playing the game because they give you feedback or warn you of danger,” said Minamo Takahashi, the sound director at Bandai Namco Research Inc.
Latest Nissan Qashqai
Distinctly Nissan and functional
He notes that similar to gaming sounds, vehicle cabin alerts must convey important information without distracting the driver. But despite how realistic videogames have become, Takahashi said there is still a big difference to making sounds that work in the real world. Working with the Nissan team, he developed sounds that are both distinctly Nissan and functional.
“It was a very intense process,” he revealed. “We stayed for days in the studio, had various discussions and went through trial-and-error with Nissan people from the sound engineering, product planning, design, and testing divisions to find out what kind of sound is suitable for the Nissan brand.”
Once the tones were created in line with the brand’s image, the next step was to create variations of the tones according to the urgency and seriousness of the information being conveyed to the driver. As Nissan’s ergonomics test engineer Miwa Nakamura explains: “Research has shown that urgency depends on the frequency of the sound, and that severity depends on the frequency itself. In order to intuitively understand what types of sounds are used, each sound is divided into functional groups and differentiated by tone.”
Besides creating a new signature sound, Nissan engineers also had to consider the devices being used to emit cabin alerts. When they realized that the monotone devices commonly used would not emit the more layered tones that Bandai helped produce, they had to find a solution.
“There is a limit to the expressiveness of those devices, so we developed a new speaker,” said Hato Hiroshi, a Nissan expert of vehicle system design. A new high-quality speaker fits under the dashboard close to the driver and is optimized for the new information soundscape in Nissan cars, making the important warning sounds distinctive from the sound from the audio speakers.
Through the partnership, Nissan engineers were able to get a new perspective from sound creators who make videogames. Meanwhile, the gaming experts enjoyed a new application of sound design.
“When I got in a car and listened to the sound coming out, I felt the same way I felt when first playing a game I worked on,” said Bandai Namco’s Takahashi. “Even if the industry is different, that sense of accomplishment when you reach your goal is the same.”
For those who enjoy Gran Turismo Sport on Playstation 4, the December update should provide new challenges with not only the addition of 7 new cars but also the Laguna Seca raceway in California. The update was released recently as Update 1.53 and includes a range of Safety Cars.
The cars are:
Renault Sport Megane R.S. Trophy Safety Car | 1995 Porsche 911 Carrera RS Club Sport (993) | 2013 Toyota Crown Athlete GPlayers can also experience the original VW Golf GTI which came out in 1983.
Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Safety Car | 2017 Ford GT | Toyota Crown Athlete G Safety Car
The WeatherTech Laguna Seca raceway is located in central California and was opened in 1957. WeatherTech has been the main sponsor since 2018 but before that, Mazda was the main sponsor for 17 years.
The 3.6-km circuit’s famous feature is a very challenging section known as ‘The Corkscrew’. This has a blind crest apex on the uphill approach and drops 18 metres. It’s regarded as a technical circuit with 11 corners and drivers need to be able to maintain precise control over their speed at all times as any errors in estimation will result in them going off track or crashing.
In addition, Update 1.53 also has 7 new rounds added to GT League events. These include a ‘Beginner League’ with 2 new rounds added to the ‘Z Heritage’ (only for racers using Z cars) and an Amateur League is added to the ‘Super Formula Championships’.
Incidentally, in case you missed it in November, there is also a single player game mode in which the player challenges best lap times set by none other than the ‘Maestro of Gran Turismo Sport’ and real-life 6-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who personally set the lap records in Gran Turismo Sport.
In addition to the challenges themselves, the package includes replays and video tutorials by Lewis himself, where you can take on the challenges while really learning to improve your skills from the Maestro.
