Skoda has pulled the wraps off its new Vision GT design study that brings its glorious past into a futuristic shape. The new Skoda Vision GT concept design study essentially takes the 1100 OHC, a sports car of the brand launched in 1957, and converts it into a single-seater virtual race car with electric underpinnings. The Vision GT gets a smashing red paint scheme much like the original 1100 OHC, while the company says the car gets a flat on-screen bar that doubles up a windshield.
The steering wheel is made out of carbon fibre and is flatted at the top and bottom. A head-up display projects information onto the driver's helmet visor as part of its futuristic novelty. Furthermore, the Vision GT concept gets active aero tech and an active cockpit with a flexibly suspended seat that has been designed to compensate for G-forces. The concept also takes inspiration from the new Formula E cars, especially the two-piece wing at the rear. Skoda has not revealed any specifications for the Vision GT concept considering the car will have a virtual application.
Only five examples of the original 1100 OHC were made - 3 Spiders and 2 Coupes
The Skoda Vision GT is the latest installment of the brand's "Icons Get a Makeover" series. The concept will be showcased at the "Design and Transformation" exhibition in Brussels, celebrating the EU presidency of the Czech Republic for the period between July and December 2022. The automaker has not revealed if this concept will make it to the Gran Turismo racing series, which is usually where such virtual racecars can be found to drive.
With respect to the original Skoda 1100 OHC, the brand's original sports car was limited to only five examples that included three spiders and two coupe models. Skoda reconstructed the 1100 OHC Coupe in February this year - a that took the company seven years to complete having had to source components from the first of only two coupes it built decades ago. The cars were originally sold to private owners and crashed. However, the company wanted to restore it heritage offering prompting it to rebuild the model, a project which to about seven years to complete. The Spider version lives on too now, in a modern virtual avatar.
