http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yNzGg8kTGo

Gran Turismo 5 has been listed on Amazon.com for a long time now, but a very interesting new product was just added to Amazon’s French site: Gran Turismo 5 “Edition Spéciale”. Although no other information is provided on the site, as you compare the regular version with the “Special Edition“, you’ll notice prices of €65.99 and €74.95, respectively – a 13% increase.

Thanks to the PlayStation 3’s ability to play games from any region, when GT5 Prologue was released many GTPlanet users didn’t hesitate to import the game in December of 2007. Although the language difference made it tricky at times (our Japanese users were extremely helpful in offering translations for the menus and buttons), importers got to play the game three full months before Europe and four months before North America. Given the high anticipation of Gran Turismo 5, how many of you out there will bite the bullet and order a copy from Japan? The eventual release date for your native region will obviously make a difference, but let’s say it’s more than a month or two away – then what would you do?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ateTG5bdoEc

After a few weeks of waiting, Ad-Hoc Party is finally available, for free, to everyone around the world! Watch the video after the jump to see a quick demonstration with Gran Turismo PSP, then head on over to the new “official” GTPlanet lobby to start racing: World G1, Lobby 1. If you’re in the mood for a quick event but the lobby is quiet, leave a note in our official GT PSP online racing forum thread to organize a quick game. Enjoy!

In the latest issue of the Official UK PlayStation Magazine, Kazunori Yamauchi made yet another statement about the questionable status of Gran Turismo 5’s weather system:

Kazunori Yamauchi’s participation in the VLN’s BFGoodwrich Langstreckenmeisterschaft event on the Nurburgring Nordschleife last month is carefully documented in the latest issue of Auto Express. Editor Owen Mildenhall, who shared the car with Yamauchi and Peter Lyon during the 4 hour endurance race, has posted about the experience on the magazine’s website. Unfortunately, the differential on the team’s Lexus IS-F wasn’t up to the task, forcing Yamauchi to retire the car after just 40 minutes behind the wheel.

Remember that Gran Turismo PSP commercial, featuring a Corvette ZR-1 with Rhys Millen and Tanner Foust? (No, not that terrible Japanese spot!) While we wait for the next round of GT5 news, you might enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at how the clip was put together. Even if you didn’t like the commercial, you’re on the wrong website if you don’t enjoy watching this collection of cars pushing it around legendary Laguna Seca. See the video after the jump…

Most of the Kazunori Yamauchi interviews from “mainstream” gaming sites are generally pretty weak, but I’ve got to hand it to IGN editor Ryan Geddes for asking some direct, important questions during his time with the GT series creator at SEMA. Although Yamauchi’s ability to talk his way out of specific answers remains strong, Geddes’ latest interview drew some interesting comments. Watch the interview above (look out for replay interior footage of J.R. Rocha’s G37), or keep reading for complete analysis of all the high points…

Finally, we’ve got our first look at video of J.R. Rocha’s G37 in the latest Gran Turismo 5 SEMA demo. Unfortunately, the quality is very poor compared to what people managed to grab at previous shows, but it’s better than nothing, right? The lack of footage seems to indicate that the GT Awards show was the only place the demo was playable, which would explain the lack of more footage. Thanks to akumatose for sharing these! The first clip, above, shows replay footage, and the second provides a look at the interior.

Since our own insider Amar212 first hinted that a track editor would be included in Gran Turismo 5, it’s something that many people, including myself, have approached with too-good-to-be-true trepidation. As we’ve learned more about the game, both Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital’s quickly-pulled web site posting have neglected to mention anything about what would be an incredible new feature. As a result, it’s dropped off the radar for most fans.