Polyphony Digital’s custom “stealth” race cars in Gran Turismo 5 are some of the most difficult to acquire in the game. Available as pre-order and Signature Edition incentives, they’re simply not available to the majority of players.

GTPlanet’s Weekly Race Series (WRS) is the longest running online Time Trial competition dedicated to the Gran Turismo series. Having run continuously since its humble introduction in February of 2003, the WRS has been run for nearly 9 years and boasts 445 completed weekly time trials! For the first time in its long history, the WRS began hosting live, weekly online racing events shortly after the start of this year. Each week, participants from around the globe race against one another in live competitions organized by GTPlanet’s very own team of race administrators.

After a busy 2011 for Polyphony Digital, including a move and expansion to new offices in Fukuoka, the studio has recently started to advertise for new “Gran Turismo staff”. According to this translation of their home page, PD are after a number of GT-specific staff, including:

Disturbing laws are being proposed in the U.S. Congress which threaten the Internet we know and love, including GTPlanet and hundreds of thousands of online communities and social networks like it. Known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), these bills grant unprecedented control over the Internet to the entertainment industry and the U.S. government while attempting to thwart online piracy.

The two latest DLC packs for Gran Turismo 5 are now available in the North American PlayStation Store. Here’s a quick review of the new content that’s available:

The latest Gran Turismo 5 update, version 2.03, weighs in at 225MB and is currently going live around the world. 2.03’s new features were leaked, but have now been officially confirmed by Polyphony Digital:

Reports have been surfacing the past few weeks of a glitch that dramatically affects online play in Gran Turismo 5.

This short, 1’42 video shows the first action seen at Gran Turismo 5’s new “Route X” track, announced earlier in the week.

After 24 hours contending with the heat, dark and fireworks of Dubai, the all-GT Academy team of Lucas Ordoñez, Jordan Tresson, Bryan Heitkotter and Jann Mardenborough managed to bring their RJN Motorsport Nissan 370Z home in a creditable 3rd place in class and 26th overall:

All fans of driving games should be aware of this by now, but today marks the start of a most unique race. A seat in the Dubai 24 Hours has been the ultimate prize in all GT Academy events to date but today, for the first time, the car is driven exclusively by GT Academy alumni – with 2011 winners Bryan Heitkotter and Jann Mardenborough joining Jordan Tresson and Lucas Ordoñez behind the wheel of the RJN Motorsports Nissan 370Z.

The new GT5 downloadable content that leaked a few days ago was confirmed earlier today by the North American and European PlayStation Blogs, who provided a few more details and pricing information.

Prepare to have your wet-weather driving skills tested in one of the latest new GT5 Time Trials at Spa Francorchamps. Here’s a complete look at what’s new:

Apparent information about Gran Turismo 5’s third round of DLC has appeared here in GTPlanet’s forums. According to “Space Empire”, GT5’s 2.03 update will be launched on January 18th, and will include a few of the following new changes and features:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08eA3364Hyk

With the 2012 Dubai 24 hour race fast approaching on 12-14th January, Nissan have published a “GT Academy: Road to Dubai” video serial that’s been broadcast on EuroSport since last September.

“Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition” has been listed in online stores for a few weeks, and today, Sony has officially announced the product. In doing so, they’ve cleared up a lingering question about the DLC “voucher” that’s included with XL:

More information about the recently-leaked “Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition” has just been posted by online retailer NewEgg. From the product description: