Exclusive: Nissan previews the future of GT-R with Vision Gran Turismo concept

Yes, yes, the Vision Gran Turismo project — concept cars crafted by designers from more than a dozen automakers expressly for Sony's Gran Turismo 6 — has been successful in both drawing attention to the game and pushing the boundaries of creativity. We've already seen some breathtaking designs (the Toyota FT-1, the Mercedes AMG Vision GT), and a few have braved the auto-show circut, but it's all been a bit weightless, without much of a tangible link to the real world.

Leave it to Nissan, the company that has more cars enlisted in Gran Turismo's virtual world than any other, to take the logical and welcome next step by actually using its Vision Gran Turismo car — shown here undisguised for the first time — to hint at a future production model, namely the next generation of GT-R. Godzilla's getting some style.

Like Toyota and Mercedes, Nissan has built a real-life version of the car it calls the Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo it unveiled today for Gran Turismo 6 racers, who will be able to download the car next month. Unlike every other automaker so far, Nissan has used the GT concept to reveal strong hints about where a production car will go — hence the 2020 reference in the name.