Renault Alpine Could Be Coolest Vision Gran Turismo Concept Yet

But this latest video game fantasy comes from a brand you may have never heard of, unless you really know your European automotive history or have been watching these pages carefully. That's because it doesn't currently produce any actual vehicles.

The French marque Alpine started producing sports and racing cars in the 1950s and was taken over by Renault in 1973. Its last vehicle rolled off the assembly line in Dieppe, France, in 1995, but Renault has recently set about reviving the marque. Not to be confused with the Japanese electronics manufacturer of the same name – or the German BMW tuner known as Alpina – the revived Alpine marque has been fielding an LMP2 racing prototype in European endurance racing, and revealed the A110-50 concept a few years ago. And even though its initial partnership with Caterham has fallen apart, Alpine is reportedly going it alone with plans to bring a new sports car to market sometime next year. Before it does, though, it has joined in on the Vision Gran Turismo action with the design you see here.

Leaked earlier this month, we now have a fuller appreciation for the new Alpine Vision Gran Turismo concept, which is both fantastically futuristic and retro. It looks like something automotive futurist Daniel Simon might have dreamt up for Cosmic Motors, and though penned by Renault's Romanian designer Victor Sfiazof, it bears some obvious influence from Japanese design. The low-slung form packs an offset single-seat open cockpit, with a 4.5-liter V8 pushing 450 horsepower to the rear wheels through a seven-speed sequential transmission for a theoretical top speed of 199 miles per hour.

Alpine has created a full-size model of the design, which it's displaying at the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris this week before moving it to the Rétromobile show at the Porte de Versailles as part of the marque's 60th anniversary celebrations. Meanwhile, gamers will be able to play with it in virtual reality in Gran Turismo 6 starting in March.