SRT Tomahawk concept is nuts

What has one seat, a hard-charging 590kW 7.0-litre V10, weighs 918kg, is all-wheel drive and will be on sale in 2035? The SRT Tomahawk of course!

The new design was penned by Fiat Chrysler Automobile's US hot-shop, SRT, for the Gran Turismo 6 videogame on the Playstaion 3, and although it is merely a virtual car with a predicated top speed of 402km/h, it provides hints at where the company hopes to take its design ethos in future.

Akin to the multitude of radical 'Vision Gran Turismo' designs from the likes of Mazda, Mercedes, Mitsubishi,
BMW, Toyota and even a Volkswagen Golf GTI Vision, the SRT creation cranks up the crazy to Sepp Blatter levels, with the abovementioned 750kW Tomahawk the 'runt' of a very special triumvirate.

Indeed, the mid-range model, dubbed the Tomahawk GTS-R, gets an even more insane V10 engine worth 847kW, and like its little brother it also features pneumatically driven front wheels which takes the output up to 1081kW, or 1450hp. Weight is also down to just 661kg.

Combine all these technical treats with its lithe bodywork, and SRT reckons the Tomahawk GTS-R is good for 482km/h, or 300mph.

But wait, it gets better.

The experimental – with an emphasis on 'mental' – Tomahawk X bangs out a bonkers 1931kW, or almost 2600hp. The driver has to wear a G-suit to avoid being pulped and top speed is quoted as 650km/h, or just over 400mph.

When car designers are given carte blanche to do as they please, with the only proviso being "it's for a videogame" the visual results are equal parts unbelievable and impressive. Just take a look at the SRT Tomahawk 'virtualcar' for proof.

Featuring the creative use of LEDs, bold styling cues and an almost spaceship-like exterior design, there are four wheels in there somewhere, along with a large rear diffuser and even active aerodynamics that SRT says improves traction and braking in extreme conditions.

The use of advanced materials such as graphene aren't so far-fetched either.

"We had fun stretching our minds to create the SRT Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo for GT6," said Mike Shinedling, advanced concepts manager at SRT Engineering.

"The game places a high emphasis on capturing reality in a virtual environment; our goal was to respect that philosophy by focusing on plausible future technologies that could achieve our vision of extreme performance," he added.

"Everyone can appreciate an exquisite design and something that is beautifully engineered; when those two things are brought together in a fusion of cooperation, there is nothing more exciting," he beamed.

But with almost 2000kW on tap and a 600km/h-plus top speed, has SRT gone too far with it’s Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo concept – is this something that could only be driven safely by a computer? Or will these figures be (safely) achievable in future, thanks to the seemingly endless technological leaps forward being made in the automotive field?

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