Willow Springs Raceway Appears in Gran Turismo 5 Video

Gran Turismo 5 January 14th, 2013 by Jordan

Careful observers will have noticed an unfamiliar circuit in the latest Gran Turismo 5 video trailer, released to commemorate the launch of the new 2014 Corvette Stingray in the game.

Thanks to users in our forums, it was quickly identified as Willow Springs International Raceway, a 2.5-mile road course located in California.

For reference, here’s a real on-board lap of the circuit filmed with a Corvette C6 Z06 last year:

The new circuit is shown off several times in the Corvette Stingray trailer below, as highlighted in the screenshot gallery.

It is important to note that, although the track is clearly rendered in GT5‘s environment, this does not imply or confirm the circuit will be coming to the game as downloadable content in the future.

Willow Springs has, of course, never been featured in any previous Gran Turismo title.

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197 Comments

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  1. January 27th, 2013 at 4:36 pm - #
    Ferrari Enthusi

    How do you get the red corvette? I only found the grey one in the PS Store. Please help.

    • January 29th, 2013 at 8:56 pm - #
      mcalva98

      There is only gray unless u buy the red one in the dealership

  2. January 21st, 2013 at 5:50 pm - #
    Tweetman_277

    For the fist thirty seconds I thought the Z06 video was from some GT5 Demo Booth somewhere… Then noticed the HUD was all wrong and thought it was some sort of hack or s0mething. Then I realised there aren’t any hacks like that I’ve seen.
    THEN I realised it was real life.

  3. January 21st, 2013 at 6:09 am - #
    pay2021

    Nice!!! i love this track!!

  4. January 18th, 2013 at 10:40 am - #
    Parker42

    2013 might bring out some good stuff for GT5, lets hope so

  5. January 16th, 2013 at 8:51 pm - #
    Pit Crew

    Nice way to start the Year Kaz. This could get “Interesting”.

    • January 18th, 2013 at 9:13 am - #
      toknowjoyman

      Please please, Kazunori, let it get interesting…
      Imagine the entire willow springs complex, including the go kart track, in a paid DLC for GT5
      (*i wish**I wish*) Thank you Kaz

    • January 18th, 2013 at 9:19 am - #
      forzaturismo

      Got money on my account,,, but no GT5 DLC for sell on PStore :/

  6. January 15th, 2013 at 1:03 pm - #
    Rich S

    One cant help but notice the helicopter on SSRX…..

    • January 15th, 2013 at 6:54 pm - #
      Droogie

      That is DLC to finally defeat the X1.

  7. January 15th, 2013 at 11:19 am - #
    YoshiG25

    hello I’m new in GT5, so far I have driven simulation on PC rFactor, GTR2, Race07, GTRevo semi simulation as SHIFT1 and 2 the only thing I do not like about GT5 is badly made copckit texture speedometer and RPM on all premium cars.
    Ok where the new Corvette :)

    • January 15th, 2013 at 3:42 pm - #
      QuikSlvr223

      It’s DLC, you can get it from the Playstation Store.

  8. January 15th, 2013 at 9:42 am - #
    scartezz

    I can’ t understand how kazunori’s mind work…….why this track? There are a lot of better track, why this anonymous track?

    • January 16th, 2013 at 11:13 am - #
      Normalaatsra

      Well Willow Springs is a well respected test track. Used a lot State side.

  9. January 15th, 2013 at 9:14 am - #
    JeremiahTB

    Both Sony and Microsoft have stated that they want to hold events before E3 in June. Does this mean more details of this track and more GT news in the Spring?

    • January 15th, 2013 at 10:03 am - #
      Jawehawk

      If Sony and/or Microsoft are holding their own press conferences before E3, it’ll likely be about next generation consoles.

    • January 15th, 2013 at 11:21 am - #
      JeremiahTB

      That’s what I was referring to…next Gen consoles. I mentioned GT in hopes of it being a possible launch title. I believe IGN has more news on the prospective details.

  10. January 15th, 2013 at 9:10 am - #
    Biggles1961

    Too many whiners ! GT5 is still a great game. Grow up,move out of your parent’s house,and get a life! Enjoy the new car and (maybe) new track. Then enjoy your bus ride to school…

    • January 15th, 2013 at 9:40 am - #
      huhobanut

      +1

    • January 16th, 2013 at 3:25 am - #
      GT5_Honda_Guy

      +1

      I read all of the whacked out comments on these blogs and really start to lose faith in mankind. All too much negativity and overall laziness. (You know, the typical fat, lazy and sitting in front of their computers all day judging people who actually get up and TRY) Either way, 3 years strong on this one title alone, I’m impressed!!!

    • January 16th, 2013 at 1:54 pm - #
      biftizmo

      +1

    • January 17th, 2013 at 5:41 pm - #
      mcalva98

      Yes you are right everyone just needs to be happy, GT5 is probroly the only game to have the new corvette!!

    • January 27th, 2013 at 4:39 pm - #
      Ferrari Enthusi

      +1

  11. January 15th, 2013 at 8:52 am - #
    HarVee

    Why does this trck look like something that someone could make in the GT5 track generator? …

    • January 15th, 2013 at 8:53 am - #
      HarVee

      Track*

    • January 15th, 2013 at 9:15 am - #
      dabneyd

      Have you ever seen Willow Springs? It’s a pretty sparse area surrounding the track.

  12. January 15th, 2013 at 8:50 am - #
    GTrf

    Batmobile? No thanks.

  13. January 15th, 2013 at 8:21 am - #
    Rich S

    Isn’t this the track where Tom Cruise tested the Red Bull RB7?

  14. January 15th, 2013 at 8:03 am - #
    GTHEAD87

    I dont know how people can complain about the cars, fair enough they could have done without a lot of the civic, 3000gt, silvia, skyline, etc. But at the end of the day not many people will have/drive these cars the whole time they play the game. I work a lot now so i dont get to spend my days playing GT so im happy to just drive cars that i will never get to drive or even see in real round tracks i could only dream of driving round. Good work PD and hope to hear of a GT6 in the future.

  15. January 15th, 2013 at 2:00 am - #
    Drevenger

    NICE!
    The preview is awesome, lol at those who think PD is done with GT5.
    Music is great too, I know most use custom soundtracks but new stuff is always welcome.
    Willow Springs would be cool for sure. Theres no DLC track from America yet. So far Asia and Europe is represented, maybe Australia with Bathurst and Europe with Silverstone. That leaves us, logicality, with North Am. South Am. Middle East and fictional location. The odds are good but i’m a bit surprised no one noticed.

  16. January 15th, 2013 at 12:47 am - #
    三五笑话

    新年马上到了，提前祝新年快乐，博客越办越好！

    • January 15th, 2013 at 1:39 am - #
      forzaturismo

      谢谢你!!!

    • January 15th, 2013 at 1:57 am - #
      tpark103

      Huh?

    • January 15th, 2013 at 4:38 am - #
      Monatsende

      Exactly!

    • January 15th, 2013 at 4:42 am - #
      GT HP Nut

      He’s just wishing us all a happy new year (a bit belated, but I believe he’s talking about the Lunar New Year).
      It’s a fault that he has used Chinese though, should’ve used English.
      (Or that’s actually a joke, now I’ve seen his username…)

    • January 15th, 2013 at 1:41 pm - #
      Escort mk1 yum

      有點晚了隊友，但給你新的一年快樂

  17. January 14th, 2013 at 10:03 pm - #
    biftizmo

    The newC7 is free..and it’s got enhanced performance driving characteristics – down to the shift schedule for the 7-speed manual transmission. News

  18. January 14th, 2013 at 9:30 pm - #
    Wiki

    I really think GT6 is close, with all these hints about this new track in the video and the ones PD was catched up scanning, the confirmation of a aproxiamated reveal date of the PS4 by a Sony executive… Can’t wait! XD

  19. January 14th, 2013 at 9:19 pm - #
    acedition333

    Has anyone compared pictures of a 2013 SRT Viper vs. 2014 Corvette?? VERY similar front nose. All the way down to the amber side marker. Someone got their ideas from the VIPER. I’d pick Viper over the Corvette ANYDAY! Hope the next DLC is a good one.

    • January 14th, 2013 at 10:00 pm - #
      HuskyGT

      +1

      Viper all the way.

      But the C7 Corvette is quite nice. Seeing them from the front angle, they do seem almost alike, but it’s just an optical illusion. Once you move, the differences are highly noticeable, and the proportions are completely different. Same thing with the C6 that used to look like the previous gen Viper from the front.

    • January 14th, 2013 at 10:26 pm - #
      RACECAR

      One problem with your claim: The Corvette has looked this way since the Jalonik render that showed what it looked like under the camo (which as it turns out, was spot on), which was in November 2011. So it didn’t get anything from the Viper.

    • January 14th, 2013 at 10:54 pm - #
      Amac500

      It doesn’t work like that dude, Corvette couldn’t face copied Viper. This car has been in the works for a while, you can see the evolution through the prototype. Chevrolet has been working on this car since before the Viper was released, that’s just how this business works. Therefore Chevy could not have copies Viper and they wouldn’t have had a reason to in the first place. In fact had they known how the Viper looked they probably would have changed the Corvette’s styling to avoid this conversation all together. But again, that’s not how it works, because the Corvette C7 has been developed since before the Viper was released.

    • January 15th, 2013 at 8:52 am - #
      mcalva98

      Viper and the corvette do look alike in a way!!!!

    • January 16th, 2013 at 8:57 pm - #
      Pit Crew

      Im saving Final Judgement for when the Prototype moniker is removed from it’s name.

  20. January 14th, 2013 at 8:52 pm - #
    ANFD

    As BRE mentioned earlier I too raced motorcycles at Willow Springs in the very early 1980s. Every North American famous racer you’ve probably ever heard of has tested at this track at one time or another over the years. It is about 45 minutes north of LA in the Mojave Desert and is a very fun track to drive if you like sweeping fast turns and elevation changes. I’ve always laughed at the fact that there are no Willows and there are no Springs but the track is awesome fun to drive. By the way, it is also included in the NFS Shift series. I’d love to have this famous unknown track (oxymoron, I know) in GT5 so I hope it becomes DLC.

    • January 15th, 2013 at 1:42 am - #
      researchALLwars

      lol