Polyphony Digital has, curiously, announced a special “NASCAR-themed online racing event” to be held in GT5’s Seasonal Events next Monday, August 29th at approximately 8:00PM PST. Though specifics remain sparse, they have confirmed a unique prize for the event will be available in the form of Jeff Gordon’s 2010 driving suit and helmet. Kazunori Yamauchi has also commented on the event via Twitter.

Polyphony Digital has taken an unusual – though certainly welcome – opportunity to announce scheduled downtime for Gran Turismo 5’s online services through mid-September. While it is not clear what, if anything, these maintenance periods will bring with them in the form of software updates, it’s worth noting the release of new GT5 versions have frequently been released after network downtime.

At the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance yesterday, Kazunori Yamauchi awarded this year’s Gran Turismo Trophy to a head-turning 1960 Plymouth XNR Ghia Roadster concept car. Created by influential car designer Virgil Exner (hence the concept’s name), it was intended to preview the direction of Chrysler’s designs in the 1960’s. It had enough muscle to back up its dramatic, asymmetrical look, producing 250 horsepower from a Valiant 225 Slant Six (more details on the car are available here).

Though Gamescom 2011 wasn’t nearly as exciting for GT fans as it was last year, Sony and Audi did use the event to launch an impressive new GT5 simulator built around an R8 LMS race car, similar to the one found in the game.

In an interview with VG24/7, Shuhei Yoshida, President of SCE Worldwide Studios, made some interesting comments regarding the future of Gran Turismo 5 and Polyphony Digital’s next project:

An interesting new GT5 Seasonal Event became available earlier today, featuring high-powered cars (750PP or less) on some of the game’s real-world race circuits:

A long summer break for the Photomode Competition news entries – but we’re back! For those that don’t know, our forums have a very healthy Photomode sub-section, and within it, a Competitions area, where users enter their best work for the chance to pick themes… and win in-game prizes! Each week, a previous winner provides a theme, giving users 7 days to submit their single entry. Once that’s ended, said theme provider picks their top images, and a poll is then made for the entire registered community to vote on. The winner then picks a new theme, and so on and so on. So, let’s take a look at what’s up this week in the 4 official competitions, shall we?

European GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough and his American counterpart, Bryan Heitkotter, are now one race weekend away from gaining their International race licences after a metronomic performance in the Britcar Dunlop Production GTN championship race at the newly-refurbished Snetterton circuit in Norfolk.

Remember when Marco Calvo took home a real-world SLS AMG last month, in Mercedes-Benz’s GT5 Signature Edition driving challenge? They’ve since released a video of the finals – hit play above to see how it all went down.

Germany’s famous touring cars have been featured in the latest GT5 Seasonal Event races, which take place at the following circuits:

Kazunori Yamauchi made a wise statement on Twitter today, offering up information on when the next Gran Turismo 5 update will be available while simultaneously tempering expectations. Here’s a translation of his post by Shirakawa Akira, in response to a question on the subject:

Mercedes-Benz has just announced a new Gran Turismo 5 contest (for UK residents only) featuring former F1 star David Coulthard. The contest starts out with a familiar formula: 24 entrants will be chosen at random, then brought to Mercedes-Benz World where they’ll be tested in real and virtual driving challenges to determine the top 6 contestants.

It’s time for another GT5 Seasonal Event – the latest of which features Mazda’s ever-popular MX-5 sports cars. Races take place at the following locations, in eligible roadsters of 450PP or less:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo8BVV602Oc

Kazunori Yamauchi is back in action on Twitter today, re-confirming one of the most-asked-for features in Gran Turismo 5 is still “under development”. Via Google Translator:

After one of the most gruelling ‘Total 24 Hours of Spa’ in many years, the RJN Motorsport Nissan 370Z of Jordan Tresson, Alex Buncombe and Chris Ward crossed the line as the GT4 race winner! This marks the first international victory for a GT Academy winner and indeed for the production class Nissan 370Z.

While responding to a question on Twitter, Kazunori Yamauchi has thankfully shared some brief yet interesting information on the future plans for Gran Turismo 5. Here’s a human translation of his comments, kindly offered by GTPlanet community member Shirakawa Akira:

After nearly a month-long hiatus, GT5’s Seasonal Event updates have returned. The “World Compact Car” series is now available, open to cars with less than 450pp and less than 4200mm in length. Races take place at the following circuits:

European GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough and his American counterpart Bryan Heitkotter faced the toughest challenge so far of their intensive ‘Driver Development Programme’ on Sunday, 24 July at Castle Combe. The pair campaigned their PlayStation® Nissan Team 370Z to a second-in-class finish (17th place overall) in the competitive Britcar Dunlop Production GTN Championship. The strong result in the two-hour endurance race secured each driver two more vital ‘signatures’ required for them to attain the international race licence that will allow them to compete in the Dubai International 24 Hour Race in January 2012.

Earlier this week, Kazunori Yamauchi announced (via rare English-language tweet) Polyphony Digital’s new offices in Fukuoka, Japan, are already up and running. Though initial news reports were lacking many hard details, more information has emerged about the details behind the move, suggesting more substantial changes for the company than was originally inferred.