Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo concept - new video

Its stripped-down nature means the car is lightweight, has high-performance aerodynamics and a new radiator layout.

"It was an exciting project without any limits or compromises. We were only bound by the safety regulations of the FIA,” said Umbach.

Bugatti’s engineers calculate that the Vision Gran Turismo could potentially attain speeds of more than 250mph on four sections of the Le Mans track.

"With our extreme speed on the long straights, we could make up for any disadvantages on the bends, and would then be as quick in the virtual world as the fastest real-life LMP1 race car, which, unlike us in the video game, naturally needs to comply with all FIA and ACO regulations," explained Umbach.

The racing car features Bugatti’s traditional horseshoe emblem on the front grille. It is positioned in the centre of the central front air intake as a three-dimensional sculpture, and acts as a support for the front splitter.

The horseshoe is flanked by the eight-eye headlights, which were specially developed for the concept. They also have an aerodynamic function, since they act as air intakes to cool the brakes.

A prominent centre fin runs the length of the roof, where the fin makes an important contribution to the car's dynamic stability. The kinematic system for the rear wing, which controls the air brake and the drag reduction system (DRS), is located here.

The NACA duct on the roof channels air into the engine at roof level without creating turbulence in the inflow of the rear wing.

An interesting detail on the roof is the NACA duct, which, with its contrasting light blue finish, is not only strikingly aesthetic, but is also the most aerodynamic way to bring air into the engine at roof level without creating turbulence in the inflow of the rear wing.

The rear of the vehicle has a strong trailing edge which provides stability and exhausts the hot air from the engine compartment.

The centre fin of the roof is echoed in the interior, where it divides the cockpit from the rest of the interior and merges with the central console below.

All important controls are close at hand for the driver. There are two displays, both of which are convex for improved readability. The display on the steering wheel shows all the relevant vehicle information.

The second display is located on the steering column and combines the images from the three cameras mounted on the exterior of the vehicle to provide the driver with an overview. All displays in the cockpit are backlit so the driver can see the information easily.

The concept car uses high-gloss blue carbonfibre on the exterior and a less reflected matte version on the interior.

A lightweight and durable suede that until now was used only for racing shoes in Formula 1 has been used for parts in the cockpit that need to have a particularly good grip or be resilient such as the steering wheel, the dash panel and the headrest. Bugatti claims Vision Gran Turismo is the first vehicle to be upholstered with the material.

Earlier this year the Chiron was spotted in disguised prototype form at Los Angeles airport. Power for the car is expected to come from a heavily revised version of the Veyron's 8.0-litre W16 engine, producing as much as 1479bhp.

Bugatti boss Wolfgang Dürheimer said: "Bugatti is the world’s most exclusive super sports car brand and Bugatti cars are only available to an extremely small group of automobile connoisseurs.

“At the same time, Bugatti is admired and loved by countless people throughout the world. We highly appreciate this enthusiasm. The Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo will make our brand available to them as well as to gamers and high-performance aficionados throughout the world, only very few of whom will be able to afford a real Bugatti. They can all benefit from the success of our brand. This is a project for our fans."

The Vision Gran Turismo project was announced in 2013, when series creator Kazunori Yamauchi invited 28 vehicle manufacturers to submit designs for their dream two-seat sports car. Designs previously revealed as part of the project include cars from Aston Martin, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Toyota.