Aston reveals 600kW V12 virtual racer

Aston Martin is the latest brand to reveal a futuristic supercar created just for bench racers in the Gran Turismo 6 video game on PlayStation 3.

Downloadable for in-game play from next month, the virtual Design Prototype 100 (DP-100) Vision Gran Turismo was designed and "engineered" by the Aston Martin Design team led by Design Director Marek Reichman.

Aston says the DP-100 racer, which was launched globally at this weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed, was designed over six months, staring with nothing but a blank sheet of paper.

"Clearly pushing the boundaries of what an Aston Martin could be, DP-100 not only looks beautiful but also boasts a high degree of engineering integrity," it said in a statement.

However, like Nissan's CONCEPT 2020 Vision Gran Turismo, which also made its in-the-metal world debut at Goodwood tonight, the DP-100 remains just for show.

That hasn't stopped it claiming the digital model's twin-turbo V12 -- which is mid-mounted, in a first for Aston Martin -- "offers up to 800bhp (597kW), endowing it with blistering performance fully in keeping with the high octane nature of the game".

But like Nissan's GT6 racer – which is said to demonstrate what a future supercar (like the next GT-R, perhaps?) from the Japanese brand could look like – Aston says at least some of the DP-100's design cues could some day become reality.

“As with the CC100 Speedster Concept, many of the design cues visible in DP-100, such as the light blade rear lamps, could also feed through into future sports cars that we’ll launch in the offline world, so the importance of this project should not be underestimated," said Reichman.

“DP-100 has been an exciting and intensive project for the team here at Gaydon. Features such as the car’s revolutionary ‘active aerodynamics’ are there not just as a way of enhancing form, but also to support the car’s function in-game."

Aston says the DP-100 was created using many of the same techniques employed in the development of its actual production sports cars, including hand sketches and 3D modeling, followed by "full realisation", at least for the digital world.

Aston goes as far as to say the DP-100 "provides an exceptional level of detail with a fully functioning suspension system and state-of-the-art electronics".

Naturally, nobody is as impressed as the creator of Gran Turismo and President of Polyphony Digital, Kazunori Yamauchi, for whom Aston has produced previous digital vehicles, including the DB7 Coupé and Volante in the first instalment of the game and the 2011 One-77 limited-edition hyper-car in the latest GT6 edition.

“When I first came face to face with this car at the Aston Martin Headquarters in Gaydon, UK, I was at a loss for words seeing the level of perfection in its design," said Yamauchi.

"I was surprised by the bold proposal of the car being the first mid-ship layout model in Aston Martin history. And while it is clean and classy in design, it is also very emotional.

"Not only that, there was this future Aston Martin in front of me that was so detailed it could be released on the market pretty much as is.”