Building the Red Bull X1 Prototype: Behind the Scenes


The Red Bull X1 prototype in Gran Turismo 5 made the jump from pixels to (partial) reality when it was unveiled to the world at the game’s international launch party in Madrid. I had a chance to personally inspect the model at the event, and its construction was very impressive (take a look at my up-close-and-personal photos from the event below, including partial disassembly of the model after the party was over). It was built by prototyping specialists IDC Models, and they’ve shared an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the X1’s construction along with their official press release. Nice work, guys – let’s hope this inspires Red Bull to take another step forward in development of the car!

IDC Models, the rapid prototyping and model making division of Industrial Design Consultancy (IDC), has just completed a prototype of a radical new concept race car, which comes straight from the mind of one of the world’s top F1 car designers, Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer.

The project has a top pedigree, with the concept car ultimately starring in GT5, the latest release of Gran Turismo – Sony PlayStation’s legendary game launched on November 24th. The car, known as the X1 Prototype, has been designed by Newey without the usual restrictions of race regulations. This enabled him to have a blank canvas and put all his technical energy into a design that pushes the boundaries of motorsport, with a shape and form that makes history.

With such high profile interest, the project has been conducted in secrecy over the last six weeks. Using data supplied to IDC Models straight from Polyphony (the GT5 game developers) the model has been assembled in sections to its full size of 4.75 metres long by 2.2 metres wide. Each model section was CNC machined and then fitted together and finished to give a seamless surface finish. IDC Models was selected for its outstanding model making reputation, combined with its facilities and flexibility. IDC is one of only a few rapid prototyping bureaus in the UK with large-scale CNC facilities.

“Building this model was a fantastic challenge in so many ways. To build a car of this size and detail from scratch in just four weeks required all our model making techniques and rapid prototyping technologies,” says Head of IDC Models, Vincent O’Horo. “After all the long hours and intense effort, the whole team is immensely proud of this amazing achievement and our involvement in such an exciting project for Red Bull.”

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Comments (32)

  1. GT Pro

    The world needs a racing series beyond the restraints of F1 – it shall be called F0 or F-Zero. I can see now what Nintendo’s F-Zero had in mind-this car.

  2. OmnipotenceZERO

    Dude X:”MAnn we dont care about these stupid newsss!! JUST RELEASE THE DAMNED GAME ALREADY!!!…
    Oh wait, its released already. Wait, what else can i whine about then?”

  3. Gt3luke

    This car is terrible fast. Yesterday i finally received this car. The most fun part is to race online on SSR7.
    Some guys take there Bugatti and then they think that they are the fastest man on the track. Well with this car you can beat the hell out of the Veyrons

    1. VEYRON STANDARD? WTF

      I thought SSR7 looked like a boring track but online, it’s actually really fun. how did you get to level 30 so fast? did you do endurance races or just race non-stop? I did 2 enduro’s but I don’t like spending more than 3 hours on one race

    2. Gt3luke

      I raced a lot. I’ve finished the first 4 races of the endurance. And last friday I raced the Indy 500 two times. So 5 hours of non stop racing. Pretty tough but when you finally get the X1 it’s worth al the time i’ve spend.

    1. acekev1983

      The exhausts look like that because this car has a fan on the back of it to suck the air out from underneeth it. This gives a massive increase in downforce with zero increase in drag.

    1. pikalulz007

      “Wow you’re a tool.. lol..Because 200kph chicane’s is realistic..”

      I suggest you read the article about the X1 again, then read up about fan car technology.

    2. Really?

      No one mentioned fan car technology here bucko..

      And for your information..

      “fan car technology” does not mean the driver is wearing a G-suit nor does it mean the rubber on the wheels is capable of holding those speeds/forces

  4. Brandon

    Nice pics of that thing. It would be great to see it made at least to the point of the GT by Citroen where it could roll and drive. As far as making one that handles like the one in the game, that’s going to be a real challenge. I got it a few days ago and have been having a blast with this car.

    Again, thanks for the pics.

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