GT by Citroën Will Leave Us in the Dust, For Real

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Citroen GT Concept

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Back in October at the Paris Motor Show, Citroën unveiled the GT by Citroën (or sometimes, more annoyingly, the GTbyCitroën). It was a concept car, and like many concept cars, it was supersnazzy. Unlike many concept cars, however, the GT was designed for a videogame. That's right: working in conjunction with driving simi studio Polyphony Digital, Citroën created the car exclusively for the virtual raceways of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue.

Of course, unveiling a car on screen isn't nearly as dramatic as doing so in 3D, so for Paris, Citroën built a lifesize replica. It was appropriately shiny and sleek and escorted by a dieselpunk-ish booth babe. And then people moved on to other things.

Now, two months later comes some rather cool news--at least for collectors and for Gran Turismo fans. Apparently, PSA Peugeot Citroën's director of style, Jean-Pierre Ploué, has indicated that the GT will be produced for real, in a very limited edition. Of 20. (In the vid below, Polyphony's director Kazanori Yamauchi alludes to this, too.)

The big question is: what'll make the real-life version go? In Gran Turismo, the car is powered by a fuel cell with zero emissions and over 700hp. Is Citroën going to go for the gold, or will they just plop that chic exterior on top of a 2CV and call it a day?

Oh, and one more big question: with the global economy in the tank, who's going to be buying these things?--Richard Read

GT by Citroën au Mondial de l'Automobile de Paris 2008
by ramboII

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