Mazda RX-Vision GT3 is gorgeous - and you can drive it!

Mazda has released the RX-Vision GT3 Concept and you can drive it, well, virtually at least. It's been made available for download in "Gran Turismo Sport", the popular driving simulation game developed exclusively for the Sony PlayStation 4 console.

It has been five years since the Japanese carmaker revealed its RX-Vision concept car and it was so beautiful that we'll never forget it. And nor will Mazda it seems as it has now somewhat restyled it into the RX-Vision GT3 Concept virtual car. It has taken the original design and re-imagined it as a full-blown race car.

Exterior changes echo the newfound purposefulness of the RX-Vision GT3 Concept, with a massive carbon fibre rear wing, a similarly profound front carbon fibre splitter, widely flared front and rear fenders, a set of air vents along the front fender tops, and a side-exit exhaust.

Mazda says that those using virtual Mazda vehicles in the game will be able to drive in the Gran Turismo Championship, an FIA-certified virtual racing series that will be held in various global locations this year.

Mazda wanted its speed to match its looks and so it is powered by a next-generation racing variant of its famed rotary engine called the SKYACTIV-R. To be competitive in class, Mazda aimed at using a four-rotor configuration which will be complemented by SKYACTIV technology.

This RX-Vision might be in-game only, but a recent patent filing could hint that a real-life successor to the RX-7 and RX-8 sportscars are on their way. The patent details a front-engine, rear-drive car powered by a Wankel rotary and supplemented by a complex hybrid system comprised of in-wheel electric motors up front, a supercapacitor, another electric motor behind the engine, and a small lithium-ion battery pack.

We just really hope that this GT3 Concept is supposed to keep our spirits up for a real life upcoming rotary-powered sportscar.