Gran Turismo Series

One of the most ambitious online races ever organized is currently taking shape right here in GTPlanet’s forums. It’s a 24-hour, online endurance challenge at the famed Nurburgring, complete with every possible real-world challenge, including tire wear, fuel-consumption, damage, weather, and time change.

The new Toyota 86/Scion FR-S was announced yesterday with a new GT5 trailer at the Tokyo Auto Show, though there was still no actual confirmation the car would actually be featured in the game.

New Time and Drift trials are now available in Gran Turismo 5, and one – at Monza – features the game’s original hyper-car, the X2010. The Online Car Dealership has also been updated. Here’s a complete look at what’s new:

Gran Turismo 5 will be getting a new cover featuring the Red Bull X2011, along with a refreshed disc that includes GT5 Spec II – in Japan, at least. According to the announcement posted on Polyphony Digital’s Japanese website, the new package will be available starting February 2, 2012 in the country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju7RVw-IRO4

Remember Gran Turismo 5’s “data logger visualization” tech demo?

GTPlanet’s Online Events forum is home to hundreds of Gran Turismo 5 race series, clubs, and leagues, where the world’s best GT players come to participate in clean, fair, and competitive online races.

While thanking fans for their Twitter messages celebrating GT5’s one-year-anniversary, Kazunori Yamauchi shared some information about the game’s next update:

Exactly one year ago today – after much speculation, rumor-mongering, winds, and two official delays – Gran Turismo 5 was finally released to the world with a massive launch party in Madrid, Spain.

Polyphony Digital knows many of you in the U.S. will be out shopping this Thanksgiving weekend (though they’d likely prefer you passed on those $28 copies of Forza Motorsport 4), so this week’s Seasonal Events take place within GT5’s B-Spec mode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6pf6ueK-Is

Polyphony Digital has announced a new special Time Trial Challenge Seasonal Event, which will go live on Monday, November 21 at 12:01 PST.

A new batch of Time and Drift trial events are now live in Gran Turismo 5, featuring the following cars and tracks:

IGN has published their most recent interview with Kazunori Yamauchi, where he provides fairly detailed responses to some familiar questions. Notably, he offers a rough timeline of how often we can expect new content to be introduced in Gran Turismo 5:

A new Seasonal Event has just gone live in Gran Turismo 5, featuring classic (pre-1979) Japanese cars in the following events. Tuning is allowed up to 450PP with unlimited tire selection.

At the 2011 SEMA Show last week, I had the very special opportunity to – for the first time – personally interview the master himself: Kazunori Yamauchi. We had a great chat, and I am happy to report that Kazunori seemed happy, relaxed, and in good spirits.