One of the many things that make video games->ke2888 so great is the opportunity to play make believe, using the ones and zeroes of the virtual world to generate some truly inspired creations. It’s essentially a blank slate where designers can have things their way, completely circumventing the joy-killers of accountants and regulatory bodies. It’s a medium where an idea can go straight from the brain to the simulated environment, pristine and untainted.

Gran Turismo has been a champion of this for years, and through its Gran Turismo 6 Vision project, the game has offered the chance for several major auto manufacturers to present an idealized concept of the perfect performance machine.

Mini->ke57 is the latest to do so with its Clubman Vision. Given the Mini's long racing history and associations, it’s little surprise: “The image of a go-kart on the road has recurring appeal," says Anders Warming, Head of Mini Design, in a press release.

I’ve often lambasted Mini for producing cars that get fatter with each successive year. Finally, it looks like those criticisms have been met (albeit virtually).

Continue reading to learn more about the Mini Clubman Vision Gran Turismo.

Exterior

For the past decade and a half, the Mini has been about cuteness. It’s been less a machine and more of a complement for a handbag and toy dog. With the Clubman Vision, that changes. Instead of making a fashion statement, this is a Mini for clipping apexes and pushing 10 10ths. 

Let’s start at the nose. Combining large inlets, louvers and a massive splitter, it’s obvious from the get-go that this super-hatch aims to punch a big hole through the atmosphere. It’s low and mean, sucking in the road surface below. The underbody is made from a flat sheet of carbon fiber, lowering both drag and weight.

Mini says the aero can regulate airflow into the engine bay and brakes to keep things cool. The fenders are more than flared – they extend the body to make the Clubman Vision enormously wide, promising high levels of grip. 

Those familiar oval Mini headlights are still in place, but come with a large black X across their surface. This is a nod to the old-school racers that would tape their lights so any broken glass from an impact wouldn’t litter the track. The modernized headlamps now use four separate LED elements to provide illumination, one within each section of the X. The front grille is elongated to take advantage of the extra width, and is sheathed in a black chrome surround. The design makes additional allusions to the Mini’s rally->ke191 heritage with upright windscreen wipers, twin fog lamps in the grille, and the obligatory racing stripes stretching along the length of the car. Snap fasteners keep the lightweight hood firmly pinned down during competition.  

Moving to the side, we see a broad, sweeping profile, accentuated by an extended roofline and a single, continuous tinted window that appears to include the pillars as it wraps its way from front to back. Mini says the new lines endow the car with a stretched-out appearance, and I agree. The doors are also elongated.  Bookending these features are two bulbous sets of fenders, which somehow swallow up the huge 22-inch bi-color wheels both fore and aft. We also see a small ventilation window and a quick-release filler cap, both standard motorsport appointments. 

In back, the Clubman Vision is puffed out even more, filling in space left by the wide wheel arches. The double spoilers that ride on the rear roof lip mirror the split doors in the hatch. The taillights are wider to match the body, and feature LEDs set in a self-contained band encircling a central graphic. A robust diffuser finishes the flat carbon underbody, while twin exhaust pipes are integrated into the beefed-up bumper.

Players can choose from five paint finishes. The basis is a hue called Cyber Silver, which incorporates a dab of mint green to offer a “modern interpretation of the classic British racing tradition.” This is contrasted by racing stripes and accentuation stripes along the hood and roof, with the standard version coming in Reflector Blue, with accentuation stripes in Radiant Orange and Curry. Roof color also comes in Mirage Black and Space Green. Finally, additional stripe colors include Radiant Yellow, Radiant Green, and Radiant Orange.

Drivetrain

Pumping the muscle into this Mini is a 395-horsepower engine (probably an inline-four cylinder gasoline unit with a honking turbo), which feeds into a sequential six-speed transmission. This is all routed to a permanent AWD layout (probably some race-bred derivative of Mini’s ALL4 system) for a 0-to-62 mph time of 3.5 seconds. It’s also capable of prodigious four-wheeled burnouts (whoever said AWD was just for traction?). Top speed is maxed out at 180 mph, but varies thanks to an adjustable final drive that can be tuned for any given track. Longer straights equal taller gears and more top end, while tighter twists equal shorter gears and greater acceleration.

The suspension includes fully adjustable dampers front to back for optimum grip and handling characteristics. These will need a good deal of attention from tuners to maximize the AWD system’s capabilities. Finding the right balance can be tricky, especially when going for that slingshot effect off a corner.

Competition

Infiniti Vision GT Supercar Concept

With looks to kill and the performance to back it, Infiniti->ke36 didn’t mess around when crafting their own Visions concept. The body is swoopy and curvaceous, a voluptuous blend of functional downforce and bedroom poster. I say “functional” because Infiniti actually crunched some simulated numbers when designing the thing.

That very specific attention to detail is continued in the drivetrain, where a 4.5-liter V-8 is paired with a single electric motor for a front-midship layout feeding the rear wheels. Weight distribution is balanced at 45:55 front to back, while several young engineers were tasked with refining the handling characteristics through multiple virtual on-track test sessions.

While faster than the Mini in a straight line, at an estimated 2.8 seconds to 60 mph and a top speed of 200 mph, the Mini might have the Infiniti through the bends, with (presumably) lower weight and AWD traction. But given a long-enough straight, the Infiniti is sure to reel the Mini in, which should make for some interesting battles.

Chevrolet Chaparral 2X VGT Concept

When you talk about concepts that are as absurd as they are awesome, it’s hard not to mention the Chaparral 2X VGT. The first thing to hit you is the way this thing looks. You might think the car exists only as a fun exercise in virtual design, right up the point you learn Chevy->ke199 actually built a rolling example. Composite materials are abundant, with each wheel self-contained in individual pods, including all the mechanical bits needed to make it stop and go. That makes for light weight, while aerodynamics are built right into the body (as opposed to protruding out from it). The driver lies in the cockpit headfirst like a skeleton bobsledder, with all necessary information projected onto his or her helmet visor.

Here comes the really crazy part. The drivetrain is apparently powered by a pack of lithium-ion batteries, but the juice doesn’t run to electric motors. Instead, a 671kW laser beam is used to create “shockwaves” equivalent to 900 horsepower. 0-to-60 happens in 1.5 seconds and top speed is 240 mph.

A wearable race car powered by lasers? Yeah, sounds about right.

Conclusion

This is the kind of car I want to see from Mini, but it’ll probably never happen. In all likelihood, what we’ll get is more of the same: larger, more cumbersome models, specifically tailored for certain “lifestyles” (I’m looking at you, Countryman.)->ke3615

But maybe, just maybe, Mini will see the error of its ways and instead focus on that “go-kart on the road” attitude that initially made the brand famous. A Mini used to be about punching above its weight and zipping around with handling characteristics that made it a real contender in the world of rally (please don’t mention the ALL4 Racing version that competes in Dakar. That’s as much a Mini as the Toyota->ke88 in NASCAR->ke3635 is a Camry). ->ke246

Is this new Vision a prophecy of the future? I certainly hope so. But for now, all you can do is hit download to load your favorite track.