Without ever having turned a wheel, the much-ballyhooed Delta Wing concept car has been virtually surpassed again. ‘Lap records’ at Indy Car tracks notwithstanding, the DW has been eclipsed with the arrival of the Red Bull X1 Prototype. With its stunning looks and equally impressive application of technology the X1 is as exciting and elegant as a single-seat racer could be: think of it as a futuristic Gurney Grand Prix Eagle. The X1 leaves all the rest idling on the other side of the bridge to the 21st Century.

And while neither prototype has been driven in the flesh, the X1 has a built-in excuse: It’s handling performance insures that no human driver could withstand the g-load. Well at least not on tarmac… How about lapping the Nurburgring Grand Prix course in sixty-four seconds?

That’s one person’s opinion. Here’s what the press release says:

In a world where modern professional racing is restricted by regulations, the X1 is a machine born from a fantastic “what if” dream of Gran Turismo: “What would the fastest racing car on Earth, free of any and all regulations, look like?” And the only way to experience it is in Gran Turismo 5. That’s according to Gran Turismo’s US website post earlier this month.

Initially the X1 Prototype was a single-seater canopied prototype wing car with covered front wheels. Powered by a 1500ps direct-injection V6 Twin Turbo, on paper the performance would have been spectacular, producing a top speed of 400km/h (248.6mp/h) and a maximum lateral acceleration of 6G. But once Red Bull Racing was brought on board to be a partner, the X1 really took off.

Adrian Newey, master aerodynamic engineer and Red Bull Racing’s chief technical officer, suggested “Fan Car” technology, a long-held dream of his, be added to the design of the X1 Prototype.

A “fan car” is a vehicle having a fan mechanism which forces the air out from underneath the car to reduce air pressure under the car’s floor. The resulting suction draws the car to the ground surface and creates a massive amount of downforce. And because it can create downforce regardless of the vehicle’s current speed, it dramatically raises it’s cornering speed capability even in low speed corners.

Fan cars are not new to the automotive world, and the technology has already been tested and proven. The Chaparral 2J fan car entered, first appearing in the 1970 Can-Nam series, was so fast that it was banned after just 1 season. Even in the F1, where tremendous speed is the name of the game, the BT46B fan car that was entered in 1978 by Brabham went on to dominate the opening round of the series with extreme speed, only to be banned after its debut race.

Thanks to the insight of Mr. Newey, the X1 Prototype design was transformed. A large fan was added to the rear end of the body to implement the Fan Car technology. Plus, Newey provided additional input into the design of the front and rear wings and rear diffuser, dramatically refining the vehicle’s aerodynamics. As a result, the virtual X1 Prototype was able to achieve an astonishing level of performance. Its new top speed was 450km/h (279.6mp/h), with a maximum lateral acceleration reaching up to 8.75G, pushing the vehicle to the very limits of what a normal human body can withstand. As a comparison, this is more Gs than a fighter pilot feels during full afterburner, and more than astronauts experience during a shuttle liftoff.

Check out the images and the video featuring Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel’s test drive. As for when your turn will come, well that’s up to Sony. After being delayed a third time in the past year, the game should be available sometime during the holiday season.