Back in September, we were teased with Gran Turismo 5′s ultimate car – Red Bull’s X1 Prototype. Then we found out that Sony was just teasing us on Gran Turismo 5′s release date. In a bid to keep up interest and try and make us believe GT5 will ever arrive, they’ve released the official photos – and a whole lot of them – of Red Bull’s X1 Prototype. If we weren’t already anxious to play the game, we most certainly are now.

The X1 Prototype features a 3.0L V6 powerplant that gets a pair of turbochargers. The result is a mind-boggling 1,483-hp with 526 ft-lbs of torque. All this will be in a 1,355 lb chassis (gross weight) with a top speed of 249 mph.

From the screenshots it also seems like Red Bull will have a bigger role in the game besides just the awesome car. It looks like a Red Bull museum will also be recreated in the virtual GT5 universe, including their famous airplane.

Needless to say, we still can’t forgive all the delays that they keep pushing out on Gran Turismo 5, but we’re glad they’re at least adding some content that will hopefully be worth the wait.

GALLERY: Red Bull X1 Prototype

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The most high performance vehicle you can obtain in Gran Turismo 5 isn’t a Ferrari, or an Audi Le Mans prototype race car. In fact, it’s not something that actually exists, nor is it a tied to any manufacturer.

No, it’s the Red Bull X1 Prototype, a virtual race car designed to be as realistic as possible while pushing the threshold of what is possible in a high performance machine.

To create the car, Digital Polyphony approached Adrian Newey from Red Bull Racing and asked him what he would envision as a top-tier racecar that had no technical limitations. The result is the X1 Prototype that we’ll inevitably get to experience when Gran Turismo 5 reaches shelves sometime this century…decade…year, maybe. For now, we’re stuck with a video trailer of what the prototype looks like and how it’ll change how we’ll forever think about the future of race cars. Chances that Red Bull makes this thing a reality? Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they find a partner to do it.

Check out the trailer on the X1 Prototype after the break.

[Source: GT Planet]

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Until now the only decent photos of the upcoming BMW X1 have been the imitation spy photos that BMW released. And those pics hardly showed the car, with plenty of camoflauge used to cover up the front and rear. Now, thanks to the folks at WorldCarFans we have some exceptional pics that show the entry-level luxury crossover with very little of the secretive body cladding.

We recently had a chance to test a prototype version of te BMW X1 in Spain and we were impressed with its genuine car-like driving dynamics.

The X1 is based on the current 3 Series platform and will be offered with numerous engine choices in Europe. We drove the xDrive 23d model with 204hp and 295 ft-lbs of torque and lamented that it won’t be offered in North America. Instead we will get the standard 3.0-liter inline-six gasoline engine with 230hp and 200 ft-lbs of torque. 

The X1 isn’t slated to go on sale until 2011 or at least 2012, but we should know more about the crossover at this Fall’s Frankfurt Auto Show.

See our Review of the BMW X1 Prototype here:

BMW X1 Prototype Fist Drive

GALLERY: BMW X1 Prototype

[Source: WorldCarFans]

[Photo Credit: CarPix]