Full concentration
“Seeing the car in the game is an unreal, almost surreal experience. And the result is perhaps even better than we’d hoped. We’ve already had some initial feedback from players of the Gran Turismo series saying that this is one of the best-looking cars in the Vision category,” says his colleague Martin Porteš. And since he has driven the car in the game and knows the game, he was able to judge the car’s driving behaviour: “Compared to other electric concepts, this car is more predictable and controllable. But we didn’t want to create an artificially perfect car, so the Škoda Vision Gran Turismo requires your constant attention while driving. You have to control the car all the time, and in some situations that’s not exactly easy. Still, I think it’s very user-friendly for its category,” says Porteš.
Gran Turismo requires full concentration, even in experienced players like Robin Běhal.
Its considerable power, for example, requires drivers to choose the right strategy. The first virtual competition, in which six drivers competed in a race with Škoda Vision Gran Turismo cars on the famous Spa Francorchamps track, showed that the power of the car can wear out soft tyres particularly quickly and that getting the timing of the tyre change right is therefore very important. The drivers who took too long to go into the pits lost quite a lot of time and, above all, had to “fight” against the car’s power, with insufficient support from the worn tyres. Only further experience will show how to modify the car for different conditions and tracks.
Czech e-sports driver Nikita Moysov has no doubt about the speed and handling of the Škoda Vision Gran Turismo. “The car is lighter compared to others in the Vision class, which makes it handle better in corners. But you need to be sensitive when applying huge amounts of power,” he confirms. The racer, who has been involved in the Gran Turismo game series “since he was a kid” and has now been racing professionally for four years, is certainly glad that Vision Gran Turismo is only Škoda’s first step in the game series. “I would love to drive the beautiful Škoda 1100 OHC, which served as the design inspiration for this car,” Moysov says. Other entrants might appreciate the presence of a rally car, be it the current Fabia RS Rally2 or one of the famous cars from Škoda’s history.