Miami Twice: Gran Turismo, AMG and Cigarette Racing to produce concept car and boat

Powerboat racing brand Cigarette Racing and AMG, the in-house tuning brand of Mercedes-Benz teamed up once again at the Miami International Boat Show that opened last February 13th. This is the fourth consecutive year that both brands joined forces to present its futuristic concept vehicles. This year the collaboration showcased the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo Concept car and the Cigarette Racing 50 footer Vision GT Concept. Designed for the new PlayStation 3 (PS3) racing game Gran Turismo 6, the AMG design team envisioned to develop its ultimate concept of a super sports car, with its extreme proportions and sensual contours to form a body that visually brings to life the breathtaking performance of its 577 hp (430 kW) AMG V8 front-mid engine that has a torque of 590 lb-ft.

This full-scale model Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo recently had its world premiere last November 19th at the opening of the new Mercedes-Benz Research & Development Center in Sunnyvale, California and subsequently made its motor show debut in Los Angeles Auto Show last November 20th. PS3 users also had a first taste of driving the car on a virtual racetrack as the new version of the popular racing game went on sale last December.  Last year also marked the 15th anniversary of the popular Gran Turismo series created by Kazunori Yamauchi, the president of Polyphony Digital Inc. The Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo was the first concept of the “Vision Gran Turismo” series to be integrated in the game.

On back-to-back display with the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo was Cigarette Racing’s 50 foot Vision GT Concept, a one-off special racing boat that houses the most powerful production twin engine performance boat ever developed and built by Cigarette Racing.  With two 1650 horsepower Mercury Racing engines, it is higher by 300 horsepower per engine than the standard engines used in its 50 footer Cigarette Marauder powerboat.  Thanks to its lightweight construction and design, it shed off about 1,000 lbs from its standard spec weight, propelling the boat to a top speed of over 140 mph. The price of this one-of-a-kind boat from Cigarette Racing Team is tagged at USD $1.5 million.