Zagato makes virtual racer real

The latest in a long line of bespoke virtual racecars created for the PlayStation Gran Turismo console game, the ‘IsoRivolta Vision Gran Turismo’ debuted at October’s Tokyo Motor Show.

Designed by Italian carrozzeria Zagato, the IsoRivolta Vision Gran Turismo was presented in 3D form in Tokyo and unlike most of its Gran Turismo predecessors, will be built in very limited numbers for real-world, real-road driving.

“The IsoRivolta Vision Gran Turismo was created to drive in the virtual-reality world, a world created by Gran Turismo,” explained Zagato’s Vice President of Design, Norihiko Harada.

“Our next wish is that this car, which was born in Gran Turismo, will take to the road in real life.”

The ‘IsoRivolta’ name comes from the Italian carmaker Iso and their Rivolta model, a four-seater GT built from 1962 to 1970 that combined Bertone styling with a Chevrolet 327ci V8 engine. The Rivolta was followed by the Grifo, Fidia and Lele, all of which also used Chevrolet engines.

Zagato’s modern interpretation of Iso’s Italo-American combination was powered by a 743kW 6.2-litre twin-turbo V8 from a Callaway Corvette, matched to a 10-speed sequential automatic gearbox. Listed performance data for the 1129kg supercar included a 365km/h top speed and 0-100km/h time of 2.7 seconds.

Zagato said the IsoRivolta presented at Tokyo will be one of “three to five” built for real world use, but provided no further information on availability or pricing.