Hot on the heels of the massive Gran Turismo 5 Spec 2.0 update, Polyphony Digital has just released all the juicy details on the game’s first batch of DLC, or “downloadable content”. It will all be available to purchase via the PlayStation Store, starting October 18th. Here’s a closer look at what’s coming:

Gran Turismo 5’s biggest update yet, Spec 2.0, is here! It weighs in at exactly 1192 MB, and is available now at no charge – just load up your game and put your Internet connection to work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcI-rHO0yko

Hot off the heels of the formal Gran Turismo 5 Spec 2.0 announcement, Polyphony Digital has just made two new Time Trial and Drift Trial events available in the game:

Kazunori Yamauchi has been sharing a boatload of new details via Twitter this morning on the previously announced Gran Turismo 5 Spec 2.0 Update coming later this month. Here’s an overview of what we can expect from 2.0, which will be made available to everyone for free:

Would you look at that – a mention of the year anniversary approaching last week, and the very next day, the bombshell hits: Spec 2.0 is coming! While we’re all wondering what Kaz & Co have in store for us, the Photomode sub-forum continues to bustle. So much so, in fact, that we’ve had to add a new Official competition. But first, some Tournament news:

The Signatech Nissan team has won the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup LMP2 title after a strong finish in yesterday’s Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, USA.  The team started the season focused on a single goal: to win the title.  The fact that it is ‘mission accomplished’ with one more race remaining is testament to the work that has been put in by every single member of the team.

Fulfilling his pledge to make important Twitter posts in English, Kazunori Yamauchi has just announced some interesting plans if Sebastian Vettel wins the 2011 F1 World Championship:

A new Seasonal Event has been made available in Gran Turismo 5, featuring Japanese cars from the 1990’s with no more than 450PP at the following tracks:

The GT community has been eagerly awaiting news of the next significant update following last month’s announcement hinting at new content and features for us this fall. According to a very rare English-language tweet from Kazunori Yamauchi this morning, that new content and features will be a “Spec 2.0” update to the game in October and downloadable content shortly after:

Two months away from the big one-year anniversary of GT5’s official release, the Photomode sub-forum continues to draw new members each week, as more players begin to explore the in-game mode, and even more excitingly, share their works with the community. The competitions heated up too, seeing old veterans bumped by new members in the polls. The Tournament continues, so coverage of that comes first, followed by our usual weekly competitions. Let’s see here…

Following up from the announcement last week, the leader boards for the Mercedes Live Race Seasonal Event have now been reset, and a few minor changes have been made to the Top Gear Test Track via the latest Gran Turismo 5 update.

Another week, another batch of outstanding photos from various members, involving various cars flying through (or sitting in) various locations. It’s all about variety, in case you didn’t guess. Even more so this week, with our Official competitions touching on history, the golden era of rally cars, a shiny new McLaren in Monaco, and even… promotional material?! But first off, this month’s main event: the Photomode Tournament.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qaTfP1RWSM

Each year at SEMA in Las Vegas, Sony hosts the “Gran Turismo Awards” – a competition with one very important judge (Kazunori Yamauchi), who selects a car on display at the show for inclusion in a GT game.

Since the Red Bull X2010’s existence was announced nearly one year ago, there’s been surprisingly little promotion of the vehicle in the form of real-world merchandise. A scale-modeler in the UK has decided to change that by taking matters into his own hands, building a 1/43 diorama of the car and putting it up for sale on eBay. Needless to say, it would be the perfect addition to any Gran Turismo collection.

If you’ve taken a look at the Mercedes’ Live Race Seasonal Event, you’ve probably noticed that many players atop the leaderboards scored their times by exploiting “shortcuts” around the track.

The latest GT5 Seasonal Event has just gone live, featuring one of the world’s favorite cars: the Mini! Races take place at the following locations, with no tire restrictions and are open to Minis with a maximum of 450PP:

UPDATE: Episode 1 is now available online! Thanks to Taboaamassa for the tip.

What do we have in store this week? Quite a lot, actually! The Tournament has stopped taking entries, PMC has a very colourful poll, 2.0’s theme is already bringing in quality entries for both sides, CCCL car/track combos being able to even double for 2.0 (more on that later), and the potential for hilarity in this week’s Photoshop theme. Onward!