I bet you never thought you’d be seeing Bulgari and Gran Turismo in the same sentence now, did you? Well… I guess racing time can be all the time now thanks to the new Bulgari Aluminium GT Watch!
We all know Gran Turismo – it’s featured in our lists of the best selling PS1 games as well as countless other lists besides. It’s an iconic racing series and one that has recently taken to the big screen thanks to the Gran Turismo movie we covered a while back here on Retro Dodo.
Who would have thought that the legendary racing simulator would team up with Bulgari, though?
I mean, speaking as a man of Italian descent, that’s a pretty big deal – they don’t put their name to anything, you know.
Still, it’s not the first time we’ve seen watches and gaming companies teaming up. Why just this week, we’ve seen SEGA and Anicorn teaming up together to make some SEGA Mega Drive watches, something that made all the team here at Dodo Towers go a little bit cross-eyed and suddenly reach for their wallets.
Bulgari has gone a step further, however. Specific styles in the stylish Italian sports watches range have been designed with Gran Turismo in mind, and as well as the slick chronographs, there’s some unlocking to be done too.
Let’s take some time out and have a closer look!
Table of Contents
Watches That Will Race Off The Shelves
Yellow is the name of the game in this watches, and there’s a very specific reason for that.
If you know anything about your Italian cars (and not just the Fiat Panda 4x4s you’l see trundling around the hills of Liguria), you’ll know all about the famous GT cars of the 90s.
They boasted yellow dashboards, and just like Bulgari’s watches, were truly spectacular to behold.
This isn’t just a ‘put a name to watch and hope for the sales to roll in’ kind of stunt either. Bulgari have gone all out, putting a tachymeter in to measure acceleration.
I doubt it will measure much if you’re just setting off on a brisk walk down the shops; they’re going for more of a ‘0-60 in 2 seconds kind of feel here, I think!
It All Began In the 90s
If for some reason you don’t know much about Gran Turismo, it’s a series of games that has prided itself as being the most realistic racing simulator since 1997.
Players don’t just hurtle around a track – they have to think about weather conditions, turn like they’re really out there on the road, and contend with different track types as they speed around bends not knowing what is coming up next.
According to Fandom, Gran Turismo has sold over 90 million copies throughout the whole series across the globe to date, which I think we can all agree is incredibly impressive!
Bulgari also began it’s impressive collection of stylish watches made from obtainable materials back in the late 90s too, and while I’m unsure as to whether they’ve sold 90 million watches, it’s nice to know that these two 90s prodigies are finally teaming up with one another.
Unlocking The Bulgari Car In Gran Turismo 7
Of course, this is the real reason you came here.
Bulgari have included an incredible concept car for their watch owners to unlock in Gran Turismo 7. This hyper car looks like it would have an insurance premium that would need me to work about 8 jobs, but at least I can play with it in game without having to actually drive it in real life.
Fabrizio Bounamassa Stigliana, Product Creation Executive Director at Bulgari explains in Car Magazine that he ‘envisioned a different way of playing with Bulgari’s DNA.
The car is based on ‘geometric, pure, and angular forms’ and takes inspiration from those amazing Italian GT cars of the 70s, albeit with a futuristic twist that makes it look more like the Silver Drivers car from F1 World Grand Prix on the N64.
How Much Does The Bulgari Aluminium GT Watch Cost?
So what’s the price of racing with this car in GTA 7?
Well, currently it’s $4,490.
That’s a lot to unlock a car in a game, but an exclusive car tied a to a watch might be enough to persuade fans of timepieces.
Look, we’re not a car website, and we’re not a watch website, but what Fabrizio has created here is truly stunning, and we’re looking forward to seeing footage of this on the track.
Downloads are pipped for going live next year, and the Bulgari Aluminium GT Watch is available to purchase right now!
