Gran Turismo 4 Had a Secret Cockpit View

Almost every game has secrets, and the Gran Turismo series is no exception. What hides beneath vast lines of programming code — never meant to see the light of day — can be a veritable goldmine for players vigilant enough to dig them up. Back in the spring of this year, we shared videos of the secret stunt tracks found in GT6, and today we’re switching to the classic Gran Turismo 4 on PS2.

One of the biggest changes GT4 brought to the series in 2004 was the addition of visible drivers. The best way to witness this was in Free Run mode, where convertibles would gain the option to drive around top-down. Sadly, however, no camera angle was programmed to let you drive from the inside of the car.

gt4_elan-interior
A well-equipped chap dancing with the Elan at the Green Hell.

Thanks to the marvels of modern hardware, getting around this limitation is a now quite simple.

YouTube channel xTimelessGaming put together a video taking numerous open-top cars around Midfield Raceway, ranging from Ford’s game-changing Model T right through to Polyphony’s Formula GT racer. Although the result varies from vehicle to vehicle — and those textures were never intended to be viewed up close — we can’t deny this method pushes driving immersion in GT4 to a new level for GT games of that time.

Just check out the mighty Cobra: when longitudinal forces push the entire camera forward and backward according to your foot-work, you know how the vicious the car really is. Driving the unique Nike One gets even more sci-fi, with the red windshield casting an other-worldly hue on the familiar surroundings.

cockpit2

The video also gives us a better look at Bob himself. Who would’ve thought Polyphony would give its driver the ability to… blink (or squint)? You can catch it at the 0:47 mark in the video, with Bob wearing quite the frown as the Model T bounces off its limiter. His bad mood is short-lived though: the Cobra certainly seems to have lifted his spirits, if that grin is anything to go by!

Curious about the other cars in GT4’s monster lineup? GTPlanet member Ayepocalypse posted similar videos in this thread, showing how the camera angle functions within vehicles with closed cockpits as well.

Special thanks to IvanDark for tweeting the news to GTPlanet.

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Comments (28)

  1. mister dog

    I like how he blinks and i think i even saw him move his mouth. Nice find. Can’t believe only 10 years ago this was my main racing game. Time sure flies.

  2. Nihilus4000

    Lots and lots and lots of bloody whinging whiners here. I guess, comments sections are “THIRD CLASS”. Well, I just LOVE LOVE LOVE Gran Turismo. So. Adios, whinging losers here in the comment sections.

    1. celtiscorpion73

      Really? seems like most of the comments on this section are nostalgic in nature and not about whining. So, I hope you feel complete after saying something useless. Bye.

  3. E8794

    im just curious about something is there a way fans of the gran turismo series can contact yamauchi kazunori the creator of gran turismo to give him feedbacks and compliments on certain things???????

  4. blackjack

    Makes me wish they were doing a re-master of this for PS4. I actually enjoyed driving some of the old vintage cars that stuggled getting up some of the hills. It made me appreciate some of the more powerful cars even more.

    1. celtiscorpion73

      I wholeheartedly agree. I would pay for a PS4 and the game in a heartbeat if they issued a remastered copy of any of the original games.

  5. Blood*Specter

    All things considered GT4 was perhaps the best ever GT game.
    Although GT3 was pretty damn good. GT5/6? Not even close given the increased technology and the many promised features.

    An enhanced GT 4 with internet capability is what GT7/Sport should be. To think that GT6 still has blacked out interior views, and we’re seeing video of cockpit views that were part of GT4.
    Really PD? Really Kaz? What a joke.

    1. Sauber_C9

      GT4 defintely the best, GT2 a close second. GT3 was the one of the worst along with GT6, not that the worst were bad though.

  6. 05XR8

    Don’t know why it was hidden. When using MX-5 in the overhead cam, the interior was nearly visible. I always tried to do hard turns to see the shifting. One of the GT4 demos showed an interior view from the passenger seat, watching the driver shift gears.

  7. mistamontiel

    GamesharkWizard when he used to YT showed this off , Codebreaker allows this but I could not get it to work for some reason ?

  8. LeeMoldon

    2005 only 2 games ago and many more promises…polyphony are no more in my opinion.. RIP.

    ..DLC?? ….pmsl…..keep lining their pockets sheeple…bye bye

  9. Superhero Wally

    As far as driver details, if I remember correctly you could see the driver working the gas, brake, and clutch in convertibles, in certain replay angles in GT4. Which is absent even in GT6.

    1. karelpipa

      Do you know/remember, if the driver was operating the pedals correctly? Ie. in car with automatic he would not use his left foot?

    2. Superhero Wally

      From what I noticed it is only the carts, TeamCZRRacing.

      Karelpipa, I believe it was completely dependent on the car in game, not what the option the player selected. As choosing automatic only means you personally as the player don’t have to select gears, the game will do it for you.

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