Wild Lamborghini V12 Vision Gran Turismo unveiled

The Lamborghini design team looks to be back on form, with a massive, jaw-dropping wow factor surrounding its all-new V12 Vision Gran Turismo.

The concept car is digital-only, with Lamborghini unveiling it at the Gran Turismo Championships in Monte Carlo yesterday.

The upside of that strategy is that it democratises the Lamborghini, taking it from a billionaire collector’s toy to a car anybody will be able to drive on Gran Turismo Sport from the second quarter of next year.

Designed in house at Lamborghini Centro Stile, the Vision Gran Turismo shares the 605kW Sian concept’s 48-volt hybrid technology, complete with supercapacitors instead of heavier traditional technology.

“Lamborghini is a very young brand, and this is why we are here (Monte Carlo) today [yesterday] to present our newest virtual vision in the form of a real model, with a highly futuristic and cool design to be enjoyed by the young generation of racing game and super sports car enthusiasts,” Lamborghini Chairman and CEO Stefano Domenicali explained.

The software machine is a preview of future design trends at Lamborghini, complete with pioneering aerodynamics and outboard wheels.

“The Lambo V12 Vision Gran Turismo is created to provide the ultimate virtual car for young fans and gamers, who are ultra-enthusiastic about Lamborghini and its futuristic aspirations,” Lamborghini Centro Stile boss, Mitja Borkert, said.

”It is an opportunity for the design talent within Lamborghini to stretch its wings and visualize a car that, like every Lamborghini, is a head-turner and the best driving experience, but also mirrors Lamborghini's push on future technologies, particularly in the arena of lightweight materials and hybridization.”

The virtual hypercar has a purely theoretical cabin, too, with all of the controls isolated to the steering wheel after the driver enters from the front via a fighter jet-style canopy.

There’s no sign of the car ever moving to even a single prototype, much less a production car or a new design language. For starters, Lamborghini doesn’t have an available single-seat carbon-fibre tub (despite building the one-off, single-seat Egoista in 2013).

Still, it’s tempting, with covered outboard wheels, not unlike a Formula E car, a large rear wing, Y-shaped tail and daytime-running lights and hexagonal side windows said to be inspired by the 1968 Lamborghini Marzal.