Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Spawns Real-Life Car

Car Analogy Please writes to tell us that a new car unveiled at the Paris Auto Show was modeled after the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue car. GTbyCITROËN is the first car that has been designed in tandem with a video game to then spill out onto the actual pavement. "The GTbyCITROËN is the product of a partnership built up during the creation of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Takumi Yamamoto, from Citroen and Kazunori Yamauchi from Polyphony Digital Inc, the games developer were inspired by each others industries to design a concept car for the game that then flowed further into the real-world. The game version of the car mirrors the real-world performance of the concept."

Comments

pretty cool

[pak9rabid]

Now if only the gun industry would follow their lead and build me a hand-held railgun.

Re:pretty cool

[truthsearch]

BFG 9000 FTW!

Re:pretty cool

[corsec67]

I would be happy with being able to buy a P90 or a Glock 18.

Re:pretty cool

[Daimanta]

Yeah, that weapon will always remain in my memory as "Weapon number 7".

**ZOMG SPOILERS**
Three shots to kill the machinegun-spider endboss.
**END SPOILERS**

Re:pretty cool

[pak9rabid]

BFG 9000 FTW!

C'mon...lets be realistic now ;)

Re:pretty cool

[BoogeyOfTheMan]

You can, you just need a collectors licnese in the US, and/or have some really good contacts in the gun industry.

Re:pretty cool

[sanosuke76]

Short of full auto, the P90's pretty easily done. Get a PS90, and assuming you live in an NFA-friendly state you can pay the $200 tax stamp and cut down the barrel to the correct length.

Pulling the trigger on a PS90 a bunch of times really fast doesn't really make the gun move off target.

If you don't want to do the SBR conversion and still want it to look like it's out of a video game, attaching a fake can to it makes it look just like a suppressed version. That's how I have mine, since I live in a state (CA) where you can't go under 30" in overall length.

Re:pretty cool

[LynnwoodRooster]

Dude, a handheld railgun is so 2006...

.
Now, a multi-loaded rocket launcher - THAT could be fun!

Re:pretty cool

[Molochi]

Can you get away with that? I thought creating a new restricted weapon required a special mfg licence and the tax transfer fee was just for existing weapons.

Re:pretty cool

[sirmonkey]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_&_Wesson_Model_500
or the 460 is as close as your gonna get...
also something i don't know about :-) don't load it up with 5 rounds, as the last one may not go boom.
seems the recoil will back the bullets outta there case if you have a strong enough grip. :-) (mythbusters anyone?, i've got a few more 50cal tales that are hard to beleive)

Re:pretty cool

[sanosuke76]

The NFA (National Firearms Act) has a number of different classifications, many of which are treated differently. One class of weapon isn't necessarily as restricted as another. The class of weapon which you're thinking of is machine guns. Those are restricted in absolutely the way you describe - since 1986, it's been illegal to build a new transferrable MG. They have to be purpose-built for law enforcement, military, or dealer sample purposes.

However, a P90-length-barrel PS90 is a different class of NFA item. It's an SBR (Short Barrelled Rifle), which you can make any time you want, as long as you jump through the appropriate hoops with the ATF first and your state doesn't prohibit it. It's actually pretty easy to get an SBR approved in most places. A rough guide is that it'd cost about $200 in paperwork fees to make a new one, or $5 to transfer one that's already been made.

Suppressors are another class of NFA item which, on a federal level, can still be legally purchased after the requisite paperwork is filled out. Your state's prohibitions may vary.

Here in California, for instance, they really don't want us to have any NFA items, but a select few classes (destructive devices like cannons / tanks, short-barrelled shotguns derived from curio+relic shotguns, etc) can be done in California provided that you're very careful about the laws when doing so. (Californians: hit http://www.calguns.net/ for further details, no need to threadjack further)

Re:pretty cool

[Reapman]

Wait... from what I remember it was 3 for the Cyber D and TWO for the Spider... or was it 4 for the Cyber and 3 for the Spider? All I Remember is the Cyber was one shot more (and waaaay cooler back in the day) then that Spider guy.

Damn now I gotta replay it, THANKS A LOT ;)

Better pictures

[Anonymous Coward]

Better pictures.

Re:Better pictures

[chaim79]

from press release found at parents link:

"In the game, the GTbyCITROÃN showcases CitroÃnâ(TM)s dedication to the environment with an electric drive train powered by a fuel cell, totally eliminating pollutant emissions."

So they are worried about the virtual environment. gee, thanks, I always hated driving through virtual smog...

I want the nike

[philspear]

That's great, but call me when THIS car from gran turismo 4 is actually made (if it's not already)

http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-Nike-ONE-Gran-Turismo.htm

http://ac520.mygallery.biz/albums/gt4/Nike_One_2022_p03.jpg

Re:I want the nike

[White Flame]

Not exactly the same, but the T-Rex has fairly similar looks.

And of course, a body-heat powered vehicle (or whatever it was) is a really stupid idea IMO, even if the Nike One does look pretty cool. ;-)

On a smaller scale

[joeflies]

Polyphony Digital has made the jump from video game to real world with the Nissan GT-R as well. The video game designer worked on the design of the driver gauges in the GT-R

Re:On a smaller scale

[spaceyhackerlady]

When you see the interior it's obvious the same people did the GT-R's interior as did GT4/GT5.

How fast could you drive one across Japan?

Thanks to Canada's strict (i.e. insane) vehicle import laws the best we can do at the moment are early '90s R32 Skylines. Not my kind of vehicle anyway; I'll stick with my grey market Mitsubishi L300 Delica.

...laura

Re:On a smaller scale

[spire3661]

ITs more than just gauges. Its a complete tuning interface. G force acceleration, body roll, all kinds of fun telemetry in a production car.

Re:On a smaller scale

[somersault]

How fast could you drive one across Japan [bbc.co.uk]?

Probably just as fast, if not faster than Jeremy Clarkson! As long as I knew there were no police around though. That guy has no shame, and I think something like 17 unpaid speeding tickets in Nevada. I've only ever been caught speeding one time, but ended up with a 3 month driving ban for it because of the speeds involved..

It was sad, but funny too when Jeremy put his neck out driving the GT-R around a test track :) I mean he tends to do a lot of powersliding so he must have developed half-decent neck muscles by now, but I guess he's just getting old.. either that or the GT-R really is a uniquely insane experience when it comes to controllable powersliding.

Re:On a smaller scale

[MachDelta]

Thanks to Canada's strict (i.e. insane) vehicle import laws the best we can do at the moment are early '90s R32 Skylines.

Saywha? I've seen at least four or five GT-Rs driving around my neck of the woods. Heck, yesterday I drove past a Nissan test drive event that had a GT-R centerpiece. And no, they weren't letting people test drive it. :P

Re:On a smaller scale

[robfoo]

I seem to recall Jez got diagnosed with a back/neck problem a while ago, the doc said he shouldn't powerslide anymore. But, being Jeremy Clarkson, he kept going..

Re:On a smaller scale

[spaceyhackerlady]

I know Nissan are bringing the GT-R to North America, including Canada, but I have yet to see one in real life. I see lots of older Skylines around town, and saw an S-Cargo van on my way home from work today. The GT-R is going to appeal to a very different sort of driver than an R32.

I see from their web site that they're planning to bring the Cube in next year. Cool! Now if we could only persuade Mitsubishi to bring in the D:5 Delica we'd be all set. Same engine/chassis/driveline as the Outlander SUV, but much, much cooler.

...laura

Re:On a smaller scale

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah we all know the Polyphony Digital guys are good at designing.

But they should first try to code a decent and realistic physic engine before naming their game a "simulator".

At the moment, the only thing it simulates is collecting cars, not driving them.

Re:On a smaller scale

[vranash]

Hey, be glad, technically in California (most of the rest of the US is more lax) we can't even get R32 Skylines because they'd have to pass all requisite crash safety testing and such. Motorex was the exception, and since their demise (as well as the fact that the crash testing only covered '96+ R33's) you can't legally import them to Cali, and grey market cars titled out of state have the same restrictions (bring them in to cal and get caught and you have two weeks to have them out of state before they're crushed) Additionally our smog exemption status is stuck at 1975, due in part to our made-for-tv governor's decision to lock it there rather than on the 30 year schedule it was supposed to hold to. (Much like the 15 year smog and safety exemption you lucky bums currently have.)

Re:Funny

[Zencyde]

GT5 has gone a step further and is advancing reality. A first for driving simulators, I'm cure.

Next, Speed Racer spinoffs?

[Animats]

What next, cars from Speed Racer?

(None of the cars from the movie actually work. The ones that aren't entirely CG don't have engines.)

Re:Next, Speed Racer spinoffs?

[turtleAJ]

What next, cars from Speed Racer?

Who knows... at least (one-off customs):

- Speed's Mach 5 has already been built
- Mattel actually built their twin engine car (with dual Chevy 502 cubic inch engines, that's a total of over 16 liters!)
- Fans already built a full sized Warthog from Halo

Personally, I think the Citroen looks too radical... yet I would not mind driving it around!

Re:Next, Speed Racer spinoffs?

[PeeAitchPee]

Back to the Mach 5 ha ha!

Re:Funny

[Narishma]

GT5 isn't out yet. What is out is GT5:Prologue, which is like an extended demo of the game.

How Much?

[whisper_jeff]

How much? I want one!

Ok, I can't afford it, whatever it costs, but I still want one!

Designed by videogame?

[427_ci_505]

That actually looks pretty cool. Though TBH I don't see how much the video game aspect can help,
since you could design whatever you want that looks cool in a game but have it not work in reality.

But good publicity.

Re:Designed by videogame?

[TubeSteak]

That actually looks pretty cool. Though TBH I don't see how much the video game aspect can help,
since you could design whatever you want that looks cool in a game but have it not work in reality.

A lot of video game designs would work perfectly well as vehicles.
The problem is that the design cannot possibly be built on an assembly line.
Further, no one is all that interested in spending the millions on R&D necessary to build a prototype.

There are all kinds of companies that hand-build custom cars on top of existing chassis, but they are rarely a wild departure from the original design and usually cost several hundred thousand above and beyond the original price of the vehicle.

Re:Designed by videogame?

[somersault]

There are all kinds of companies that hand-build custom cars on top of existing chassis, but they are rarely a wild departure from the original design and usually cost several hundred thousand above and beyond the original price of the vehicle.

Or, you could just design a kit yourself and probably get the panels made out of plastic/fibre-glass/wood/whatever for a few thousand.. if you're just interested in the looks at least.

Re:Designed by videogame?

[lysergic.acid]

that's like saying, i don't see how much pencil & paper can help, since you could draw whatever you want that looks cool on paper but have it not work in reality--design concepts are created by design artists, not engineers.

most concept cars are designed to explore/show off design aesthetics. they show the direction an auto manufacturer is headed in in the future. they may employ general engineering concepts, but the detail technical aspects aren't dealt with until much later. it always starts with a concept sketch or design mock-up, and in this case the mock-up was made for a video game initially.

No, It's Not

[ovanklot]

It's not a real-life car. It's a concept. Concepts are renders and at best life-size fiberglass models.

Call me once it goes into production.

Re:No, It's Not

[BoogeyOfTheMan]

They do make real life working models of concept cars. Usually the ones they are actually planning on producing.

OOoo, software analogy for cars...

Concept is like alpha stage, theres still a lot of work to be done and its not necisarily going to look anything like the finished product.

Pre-production is like beta stage. They've finalized a lot of things, but are still tweaking the ecu, suspension, etc.

And then you have the production model, which is like v1

Re:No, It's Not

[hobbit]

And if Google made cars, they'd sell the ones with dodgy suspension and ecu to the public by the million!

And they'd still be better than everyone else's v1.0 cars...

Re:No, It's Not

[somersault]

Concepts are renders and at best life-size fiberglass models.

Several companies make working concept cars. Some concepts are just models like you say, but 'at best' the concepts are actually fully working race cars - see the Mazda Furai if you don't believe me ;) That video is worth watching just to hear the crazy rotary engine!

Re:No, It's Not

[skreeech]

I would guess that it never went into production. It was fun so it is too bad they still don't put it in the games.

The crossfire has a similar look doesn't it?

CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[fgaliegue]

Yeah, I'm French, but I really have no respect at all for the French auto industry.

It's plain and simple: for the last 10 years, any car produced in France has been (s)crap. Nothing else. US don't laugh, you're even worse (apart from the Corvette C6).

The French auto industry can't make a decent engine, except when partnering with other manufacturers (Ford for Diesel engines, BMW for petrol engines, since we talk about PSA here - for Renault, see Nissan) and have managed to increase the average weight of their vehicles by 40% (a 207 CC weighs as much as a full blown BMW 330i, damnit!), all this while turning the driving experience from "fun" (Peugeot 106 Rallye; CitroÃn Saxo VTS; Renault Clio Williams) to "dull" (Peugeot 207 RC; CitroÃn? Hah! Renault is the exception here: Megane and Clio "RS Team").

The only thing the French industry can provide excitement about today is concept cars, and WRC victories (which they don't even take advantage of to make an appealing road legal derivative - unlike Subaru, Mitsubishi, and even Ford, damnit!). Don't expect a CitroÃn like that on the roads in the foreseeable future. If ever.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[r_jensen11]

You have to be joking. I would *kill* for a C6, if I wasn't the next closest thing to a pacifist. That thing beats the 750 hands-down

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[fgaliegue]

If you're talking about the BMW 750i vs any C6, just one thing: go to a showroom and just get into the car. Guess which one feels better just being at the wheel.

And don't get me started on the engines. If you were to compare the most powerful C6 to the 7 series, then the 730i would be the one to compare it to. And the one with the better performance AND the better mileage would not be the C6.

Pitiful, really.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[afidel]

You're on crack. The 750i (new F01) is 407hp@5500-6400, the stock C6 is 430hp@5900 so yeah I would say the C6 is completely comparable to the 750i. Price wise you can get a Z06 for about what a 750i costs and that does 505hp@6300. The standard C6 gets 16/26 mileage vs 17/25 for the 750i, so I'd call it a draw. At the high end compare the ZR1 with a 650HP 6.2L engine to the 760i with a paltry 438HP from a 6.0L engine!

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[saleenS281]

So the 7 series is better how? Not that you can even compare the two. The Vette makes more power, and gets 30mpg+ highway.

If you want to compare the 7 series, let's bust out the new CTS-V.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[somersault]

He's not on crack. You are missing the fact that the C6 will have a completely different engine range for the US - or is there just one engine for the US version as you seem to be suggesting?

The largest engine you can get in a C6 here in the UK - and therefore likely to be same for the rest of Europe - is a 3 litre V6, which has 215HP (you're probably giggling around now, right?). So the 730i would indeed be the more accurate comparison.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[afidel]

Huh? Both the 2009 ZR1 and 2008 Z06 are available in the UK, perhaps your local dealership doesn't have one but they are for sale in the UK from what I can find on the net. Both are outfitted with their US engines.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[covertlaw]

There are only three engines available in the Corvette lineup: LS3-420 HP, LS7-505 HP (ZO6), and LS9-620-630 HP (ZR1). There hasn't been a 6-cylinder offered in any Corvette since the '50s in any market. If you don't believe me, go look up Top Gear on YouTube. ZO6 and ZR1 also use an aluminum monocoque chassis to save weight that's transferred to heavy-duty suspension and drivetrain components.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[fgaliegue]

I think r_jensen11 was talking about the CitroÃn C6, not the Corvette C6.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[Gordonjcp]

Power isn't everything. The BMW needs a lot of power because you're constantly slowing down for corners - its handling and ride quality are *abysmal*. I don't know what it is about German car manufacturers, but it seems that the next thing they do after fitting an engine larger than two litres is replace the suspension springs with concrete blocks.

The C6, on the other hand, has Citroen's world-reknowned oleopneumatic suspension. It's a shame they didn't retain the fully-powered braking system from the earlier Citroens; up to the Xantia, the brakes were driven from the same large hydraulic pump as the suspension and power steering. The C5 and C6 have a more conventional system, which is crap - just as bad as the brakes on the BMW.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[John Betonschaar]

Being an avid Peugeot 205 Rallye & GTI fan, I feel a bit sad I have to agree... The time French cars where fun to drive has been lost since the 6 series (had a 206 GTI aswell, which was alright but not nearly as good as the 205 GTI). Never liked Renaults at all, except for the Renault 5 GT Alpine (which I never had btw).

But anyway, it's no different with affordable cars from other manufacturers. For fun cars you now have to go up on class of cars, to the 200+ bhp models (which PSA doesn't have and Renault only with the Clio V6). German cars are good but expensive and big, US cars suck big time in general, Asian cars are great but we don't get the really cool ones over here...

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[fgaliegue]

> Power isn't everything. The BMW needs a lot of power because you're constantly slowing down for corners - its handling and ride quality are *abysmal*

Bwaahaha*hrm*.

Sorry, but having had an E46 330d at the time, I can only laugh at that statement. There was just no car to compare it to at the time, and certainly not from France. The C5 felt sloppy compared to it. And no, the 330d didn't ride as a plank.

I now own an Opel Speedster Turbo, but it's because I don't drive 40k miles a yeat anymore, only 4k, if not less.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[Carewolf]

I don't know where you get that impression from, but French car-makers like all car-makers in Europe uses standard engines by now (and chassis, etc..), and as such perform completely average like all other European cars. Peugout actually has a number of excellent series which are cheap, nice looking and the same performance as everybody else. Certainly French cars are much better than American cars, because they perform very well in corners, and up small mountain roads.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[Gordonjcp]

Sorry, but having had an E46 330d at the time, I can only laugh at that statement. There was just no car to compare it to at the time,

They're good, but they're only much use for driving fast on very very smooth fairly straight roads.

and certainly not from France. The C5 felt sloppy compared to it.

Ah, that's because you've had it drummed into you that rock-hard suspension == good handling. It doesn't. Look at rally cars or indeed touring cars some time.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[somersault]

Ah sorry, I did notice the guy saying something about one american car being good, but remembered it as the Z06 rather than the C6 (didn't know the Z06 was a type of C6, but I remember reading the Z06 was the first decent handling car to come out of the US). Since he is french I ended up thinking of the Citroen C6. My bad :p

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[somersault]

I do believe you, it's my fault: I'd managed to get confused and thought you were comparing to the Citroen C6 because this guy is french, and the main story is about a Citroen :s

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[fgaliegue]

> They're good, but they're only much use for driving fast on very very smooth fairly straight roads.

You should come to France some day, and you'll see that "very very smooth fairly straight roads" don't exist, except highways. And I don't drive on highways.

And yes, I enjoyed driving the beemer on "B roads", and no, it wasn't driving like a plank (BTW, I didn't have the sports suspension). It was even very, very comfortable, and I was not afraid to drive a tank-worth (450 miles) without stopping. The C5 gives me a backache after not even 200 miles. I make a difference between "smooth suspension" and "sloppy suspension". The C5 suspension is sloppy.

Re:CitroÃn, manufacturing this? Be serious...

[Gordonjcp]

Hmm, well, each to their own. I live in Scotland, where there's probably even less smooth straight road than France. I've found pretty much all the BMWs fairly unpleasant to drive for more than quite short journeys, mostly due to their near-total lack of body roll - they just don't feel like they're going to stay on the road. I know that Xantia Activas will actually roll *out* of bends at speed, but there's a difference between dynamic roll control and excessively stiff anti-roll bars. Without a certain amount of roll, you've got no grip in corners unless the road is perfectly smooth.

Finally, a nice car from France.

[Neanderthal Ninny]

I still remember those ugly cars from France like Peugeot and CitroÃn (now they are one company) awhile back and maybe current (I haven't checked since both of them haven't sold cars in the US since 1992). Now CitroÃn is trying to revive sales with this nice car and this commercial in Europe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4ckJFNkra8
However this is concept car but if people are truly interested then I hope CitroÃn will mass produce it.

Beautiful

[Efialtis]

http://www.gran-turismo.com/jp/movie/d2612.html

It won't be...

[Joce640k]

The law requires all new cars to be nice and round and pedestrian-friendly at the front.

This thing is all sharp and pointy so it would never get approved.

Re:It won't be...

[philspear]

For street use, yes, but I'd be suprised if the car mentioned in the article were going to be made to sell. I didn't RTFA, so maybe I should be suprised already, but seems like just a concept car.

ATTN:and-i'm-sure-it-will-be-affordable dept

[HeLLFiRe1151]

Affordability isn't a problem anymore. We just repo the car and let the government bail out the financier for their loss.

Re:Funny

[vux984]

If you are really into driving, PS3 is the only answer.

err.... if you are really into driving, the PC is the only answer.
Logitech is good, but it doesn't hold a candle to some of the stuff out there...

Stuff like:
http://www.act-labs.com/race_combo3.htm

Although seriously, if you are REALLY into driving shell out for a track day at a local track with an in-car instructor. Games don't hold a candle to the real thing...

Re:Satan spawns world-wide cult of ATHEISM

[somersault]

nobody is this stupid

How much do you want to bet?

Wow, environment

[jnnnnn]

In the game, the GTbyCITROÃN showcases CitroÃnâ(TM)s dedication to the environment with an electric drive train powered by a fuel cell, totally eliminating pollutant emissions.

Although there's no mention of what powertrain the RL version uses.

How environmentally friendly of them! I would have thought a concept car such as this would be a really good opportunity to try developing a new drivetrain.

Re:Funny

[somersault]

That race combo thing doesn't sound any better than the Logitech G25? Yes, I have one and a PS3. Works great using a Soundrocker chair as a driving seat :)

GT5 is pretty challenging in 'professional' physics mode - there's a lot less grip than the standard physics. I wouldn't say everything about the pro mode is completely realistic though; the Elises I bought in game both oversteer far too readily (the Elise actually tends to understeer at the limit in real life, from what I've seen and heard on Top Gear, etc).

Fully agree with you about real driving though. Unfortunately there is only one decent race track in the whole of Scotland (Knockhill), and I've yet to organise a trip to it. I was seriously interested in getting into go-kart racing over summer after having a go on a 390cc kart at an outdoor course in France, but I couldn't find any local clubs back here :/ Perhaps there are some and they just don't have an online presence..

Re:Funny

[Anonymous Coward]

I use a logitech wheel with my Xbox 360. This wheel also works with the PC. So far its worked with every game I've tried it with. So I have no idea what you are talking about with the statement that "MS only allows their shitty wireless wheel to be used with the xbox.".

Re:Funny

[lysergic.acid]

well at least the PS3 has Prologue. Polyphony Digital has decided to skip the PSP system completely. =[

oh well, at least there's Test Drive, Race Driver 2006, and Asphalt Urban GT 2 (an unbelievably good racing title by Game Loft--a company previously known for making java games for cellphones)...

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Even though...

[deroby]

Depends what you like imho.
I used to love citroen for their 'angular' approach, especially the XM and Xantia come to mind. They both resemble those early TGV's, I've always enjoyed that look above the more roundish speed-trains (eg. Shinkansen 0 series). Seems Citroen went the 'mainstream' roundish all-cars-look-the-same road after that, blending in with all the rest. Although they are trying to stand out again "lately" (C4 Coupé, C4 Gran Picasso), I hope they stick to it.

FYI : I drove a Xantia Td for many years and still think it was one of the best cars I ever drove, a bit quirky, but superb for cruising around (**),
as always, YMMV (pun intended).

(**: no, it's not a sports car, so don't come sulking that it can't do 0-100 in under 10 seconds and other silliness like that. As far as I care -and imho most people should learn to think about it like that too- : a car is a (costly) tool for transportation, not a dick-enhancement)

Re:Even though...

[Gordonjcp]

that is the best-looking Citroen I have ever seen... it is still butt-ugly.

I'm guessing you're from the US, home of such absolutely beautiful cars as the Chrysler 300 and the Ford Edsel.

(Hey! You do NOT want to funnel air under the front tires! Duh!)

You *do*, however, want to funnel air to the front brakes. Pretty much all the older big Cits (CX and XM in particular) had huge airscoops just under the front, for ducting lots and lots of cooling air to the front brakes. The actual discs, pads and calipers are relatively small on them compared to similar-sized cars (my CX, despite the fastest model having a book top speed of 140mph and weighing nearly two tons, has 12" vented front discs - the same across the whole range) but because the braking pressure is provided by an engine-driven pump rather than your right foot, you can apply much, much more force to the brakes than on a car with conventional brakes. I think it's in the region of 6 or 7 tons per square inch. Now, that's all very well, but you've got a small disc (low thermal mass) and a lot of friction, so it's going to get really, really hot...

Re:Even though...

[Jane Q. Public]

It was an attempt a humor... sorry if it didn't come off very well. I am aware that you have to cool the brakes. But those scoops are pretty huge.

BrandNamesAreSoMuchCOOLERWithoutSpaces

[IntergalacticWalrus]

Don'tYouAgree?
AlsoAddSomeUPPERCASEWordsForBetterEMPHASISOnImportantParts

So what?

[KlausBreuer]

*shrug*

Yet another super-duper-racing car, of which they'll sell a couple hundred (if they're lucky), and that's that. No way will they actually make a profit from this.
Probably designed so the CEO can drive it and feel cool.