Ford is teaming up with gamers to create ‘the ultimate track machine’. Ford’s first virtual race car will be designed from the ground up, rather than based on an existing model.
The car is codenamed Team Fordzilla P1. Captains of the five Fordzilla esports teams from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK will be collaborating with Ford on the vehicle.
“Coming up with a no-holds-barred race car for the virtual world is when the gloves come off and the design team can really let their imaginations fly,” said Amko Leenarts, director, Design, Ford of Europe.
“The expertise of gamers is crucial to ensuring that this will be the best-looking car on the grid.”
Ford will be canvassing the wider gaming community for its input, too, with social media polls via Twitter. These will reference everything from the engine to the shape of the cockpit. Work on the project begins this week.
“We all love racing our dream cars but ultimately these are usually painstaking recreations of vehicles that actually exist in the real world,” said Leah Alexandra, captain of the UK Fordzilla team.
“It will be an absolute thrill to get behind the wheel of the Team Fordzilla P1 for the first time knowing that not only have we helped to create it but that no-one else has ever driven it before.”
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This Ford is just the latest of many virtual-only cars. The concept was pioneered for the famed racing title Gran Turismo.
A number of manufacturers have designed special Vision Gran Turismo models purely for the virtual world. Some have even built them for real. From what Ford is saying of this Fordzilla P1, it will be something entirely different, unlike, say, Bugatti’s Vision Gran Turismo car.