Gran Turismo 5 Message Board

Welcome to week four of this year’s GT Academy competition! By now you’ve probably learned the basic fundamentals of the racing line, variable high-speed cornering, continuous elevation changes, and multi-radius acceleration, all while trying to maintain the highest grip possible to maximize corner exit speed.

If you achieved a Gold Trophy in all five events within a round, you will unlock the GT Academy-spec Nissan used in the trials of that round. Prizes will be distributed one week after the online competition of GT Academy ends, which is on or after July 4th, 2012. Here are the four cars you can unlock in Rounds 1 through 4:

• Round 1 – Nissan Leaf (GT Academy) ’11
• Round 2 – Nissan Silvia spec-R AERO (GT Academy) ‘02
• Round 3 – Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II (GT Academy) ‘94
• Round 4 – Nissan 370Z (GT Academy) ‘08

*** Each of the subsequent vehicle prizing will be unveiled as Round 5 and 6 are unlocked on May 28th and Round 7 and 8 on June 11th

Drivers who clear all eight rounds of the competition with a Bronze Trophy or better will receive the special “GT Academy 2012” racing gear – the head-turning GT Academy racing suit

You can claim your prizes (including the GT Academy racing suit) on or after July 4th, 2012. To add these items to your collection, start up Gran Turismo 5 or Gran Turismo 5 XL, select “GT Mode” on the main menu, select “Community and Gift”, and your earned prizes will be shown on the right side of the screen. For a detailed description, please head to the official site here.

For now, be sure to learn as much as you can for each of the events as the final Round 8, Event 5 race is only a few short weeks away. Good luck!

Attention GT Academy competitors: we are now in the third week of the 2012 season, and the competition is heating up. Since May 1st, nearly 600,000 competitors have driven more than 51,000 miles and reattempted 52,000 times for their chance to become this year’s GT Academy Champion.

As you may already know, Round 3 and 4 became available this week – offering faster and more advanced technical driving challenges to prepare you for the final eighth round starting in June.

To give you a leg up on the competition, TwitchTV will be doing a live webcast with the first US GT Academy Champion Bryan Heitkotter today at 6pm Pacific Time. Be sure not to miss this as Bryan will be providing some inside tips for each of the round challenges and his predictions for this year’s winner.

Here’s a quick reminder for each of the challenges from Round 1-4:

Round 1: Nissan Leaf (Current Leaderboards)

• Simple Right-Hand Corner
• Simple Left-Hand Corner
• Simple Series of Corners
• Series of Blind Corners
• Driving with Opponents

Round 2: Nissan Silvia Spec-R Aero (Current Leaderboards)

• Long Banked Corner
• Hard Braking Before a Corner
• Series of Corners on the Rome City Course
• S Curves 1
• High-Speed Approach to a Series of Corners

Round 3: Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (Current Leaderboards)

• Rotary Corner in the Madrid City Course
• S Curve at Suzuka Circuit
• Continuous Corners and Elevation Changes
• Variations of Corners
• Maintaining Stability in High-Speed Sections

Round 4: Nissan 370Z (GT Academy) ’08 (Current Leaderboards)

• The Nurburgring’s “Kallenhard” Section
• Low Speed ‘S’ Curve with Changing Radius
• ‘S’ Curves 2
• Suzuka Circuit’s “Spoon Curve”
• The “Variante Ascari” and “Parabolica” at Monza

Remember, in case you haven’t started, GT Academy 2012 is available as a free downloadable through the PlayStation Store until the end of the competition on June 24th. See if you have what it takes to become the next GT Academy Champion!

More information on GT Academy is available through the official site and our Facebook page.

It’s time to gear up for GT Academy 2012! The competition starts on May 2nd and will be open to all entrants through June 26th.

Developed for racing fans of all levels, GT Academy 2012 will offer a newly designed eight-step training and qualification program accessible as a demo based on the hit Gran Turismo 5. The demo will be made available for free on PlayStation Store via PSN and will maximize the potential of all users, from beginners to advanced drivers. All participants will compete in a series of virtual driving trials using Nissan cars, and the best of the best will compete in the National Finals in July. The action will then jump from the virtual cars of the PS3 game to actual Nissan sports cars when the winners of the National competition are invited to take part in the intense international Race Camp competition in August, where one ultimate GT Academy winner will train with elite racecar drivers and race as part of a professional team.

Entering its second season, GT Academy USA is a national competition designed to recognize elite Gran Turismo drivers and give them the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fulfill their virtual-to-reality racing dream of becoming a professional racecar driver. The grand prize for the GT Academy winner is a spot on a racing team to compete in a real race, including all the training and licensing he or she will need in order to prepare. From there, it’s up to the winner’s passion, determination, and skill.

Last year, Bryan Heitkotter from California was crowned the first US winner of GT Academy at Silverstone, beating out 53,000 racing hopefuls in becoming a professional racecar driver and now racing a Nissan 370Z Nismo RC in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series in the top GS (Grand Sport) class.

“Being able to use our GT Academy graduates in our ever-growing range of top-level motorsport activities is another example of Nissan’s innovative approach to everything we do,” explains Darren Cox, General Manager Nissan in Europe. “If we didn’t believe in the drivers they wouldn’t be in those seats, but GT Academy has exceeded our original expectations and each year has provided us with some outstanding driving talent. As our drivers continue to impress on a world stage, GT Academy continues to expand. I would urge anyone that feels they have the talent to get involved and give it a go. GT Academy is a real, credible and exciting route into motorsport that will not cost you anything thanks to our partnership with PlayStation.”

Kazunori Yamauchi, President of Polyphony Digital, adds: “It makes me very proud to see the graduates of the GT Academy racing around the world with Nissan. This year we are aiming to make GT Academy bigger and better than ever before and so I am creating a new series of driving challenges open to anyone with a PS3 (Note: terms and conditions will apply). You don’t have to be an expert to have a go.”

So practice up on either Gran Turismo 5 or Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition and be sure to mark your calendars and get ready for GT Academy 2012 starting on May 2nd.

More details to come on the official site and Facebook.

It’s time to gear up for GT Academy 2012! The competition starts on May 1st and will be open to all entrants through June 24th.

Developed for racing fans of all levels, GT Academy 2012 will offer a newly designed eight-step training and qualification program accessible as a demo based on the hit Gran Turismo 5. The demo will be made available for free on PlayStation Store via PSN and will maximize the potential of all users, from beginners to advanced drivers. All participants will compete in a series of virtual driving trials using Nissan cars, and the best of the best will compete in the National Finals in July. The action will then jump from the virtual cars of the PS3 game to actual Nissan sports cars when the winners of the National competition are invited to take part in the intense international Race Camp competition in August, where one ultimate GT Academy winner will train with elite racecar drivers and race as part of a professional team.

Entering its second season, GT Academy USA is a national competition designed to recognize elite Gran Turismo drivers and give them the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fulfill their virtual-to-reality racing dream of becoming a professional racecar driver. The grand prize for the GT Academy winner is a spot on a racing team to compete in a real race, including all the training and licensing he or she will need in order to prepare. From there, it’s up to the winner’s passion, determination, and skill.

Last year, Bryan Heitkotter from California was crowned the first US winner of GT Academy at Silverstone, beating out 53,000 racing hopefuls in becoming a professional racecar driver and now racing a Nissan 370Z Nismo RC in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series in the top GS (Grand Sport) class.

“Being able to use our GT Academy graduates in our ever-growing range of top-level motorsport activities is another example of Nissan’s innovative approach to everything we do,” explains Darren Cox, General Manager Nissan in Europe. “If we didn’t believe in the drivers they wouldn’t be in those seats, but GT Academy has exceeded our original expectations and each year has provided us with some outstanding driving talent. As our drivers continue to impress on a world stage, GT Academy continues to expand. I would urge anyone that feels they have the talent to get involved and give it a go. GT Academy is a real, credible and exciting route into motorsport that will not cost you anything thanks to our partnership with PlayStation.”

Kazunori Yamauchi, President of Polyphony Digital, adds: “It makes me very proud to see the graduates of the GT Academy racing around the world with Nissan. This year we are aiming to make GT Academy bigger and better than ever before and so I am creating a new series of driving challenges open to anyone with a PS3 (Note: terms and conditions will apply). You don’t have to be an expert to have a go.”

So practice up on either Gran Turismo 5 or Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition and be sure to mark your calendars and get ready for GT Academy 2012 starting on May 2nd.

More details to come on the official site and Facebook.

A member of the GTPlanet forums has uncovered significant evidence suggesting the famous Mount Panorama race circuit is on its way to the Gran Turismo series...

Most of us, in real life, must stay content with occasionally going 10 miles over the speed limit in our used 2004 Pontiac Sunfires. We'll never know the thrill of triple-digit speeds, or experience the bowel-shattering roar of an Italian V12 engine; the harsh reality of reality is precisely why games like Gran Turismo 5 exist.

This Tuesday, equal doses of commuter sensibility and murderous horsepower will be available in Car Pack 3, the latest $5.99 DLC bundle of bumpers for GT5. The pack includes the Lamborghini Aventador, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, the endurance-tuned Jaguar XJR-9 LM, as well as the more sensible Mini Cooper S Countryman, all-electric Nisan Leaf and button-cute 1966 Volkswagen 1200.

In addition to the new whips, there's also a new course to test them on. Route X, available separately for $3.99, is a specially designed oval track with banked curves intended for speed testing. The track allows the user to measure their quarter-mile times, g-force and acceleration, so it'll be helpful for obsessive compulsives (read: us) who obsess over the tiniest of modification details.

#granturismo On January 17, Gran Turismo 5 owners will get two news pieces of DLC to purchase, one of them a pack with six new cars, the other a new test track. More »

Hey, GT fans! I’m happy to announce our third batch of premium downloadable content coming to Gran Turismo 5 next Tuesday, January 17, along with some updates to the game itself.

The first piece of content is Car Pack 3 for $5.99, featuring six new cars from both past and present. Download Car Pack 3 to get your hands on Lamborghini’s latest flagship model, the Aventador, along with the Jaguar XJR-9 LM racecar, Aston Martin V12 Vantage, the 66′ Volkswagen 1200, Mini Cooper S Countryman, and the new Nissan Leaf.

The second piece of new DLC is the Speed Test Course Pack featuring the Route X test course, which will be available for $3.99. If you caught the PDI-made promotional trailer for the new Acura NSX Concept vehicle (that’s right, the NSX is back!!), you’ve already seen a sneak peek of this new track. Route X is a massive oval with giant banking corners, allowing you to test your vehicles’ maximum speed and performance, plus some beautiful vistas to rush by at 200mph. You’ll be able to use this track online, and in Arcade and Practice modes.

And since the Speed Test Course Route X is the perfect proving ground to test the performance of your vehicles and all of the custom tuning and modification you’ve done, we’ve gone one step further and made that even easier for you. You’ll be able to track things like your mile and quarter-mile time, acceleration and g-force.

Also coming next week is the XL Edition of GT5 for $39.99, along with a minor update to Gran Turismo 5 via free downloadable patch. Check here for more details on the new improvements coming in next week’s patch.

If you’ve missed the first two DLC drops in October and December, check here for more information about all the great new content available for Gran Turismo 5, including the new car and track packs.

Finally, GT Academy USA winner Bryan Heitkotter is gearing up to take on the 24H Dubai endurance race this weekend, taking turns with fellow GT Academy Europe winners. Follow GT Academy on Facebook to find out how they do in this grueling 24-hour race.

As prognosticated by retailers last month, Sony has officially revealed Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition. As expected, the game packs in the original GT5 with a host of extra content, including every update through Spec 2.0 right on the disc and a voucher for five pieces of downloadable content.

Finally, if you're looking for a little extra flair, the Blu-ray case will include a reversible insert that features the Red Bull X2011 supercar.

Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition launches January 17 for $40.

As prognosticated by retailers last month, Sony has officially revealed Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition. As expected, the game packs in the original GT5 with a host of extra content. Specifically, the new edition includes every update through Spec 2.0 right on the disc and a voucher for five pieces of downloadable content. Finally, if you're looking for a little extra flair, the Blu-ray case will include a reversible insert that features the Red Bull X2011 supercar.

Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition launches January 17 for $40.

#granturismo If you were one of those driving fans that passed up Gran Turismo 5 at launch in favor of waiting for a more complete edition of the game at a lower price, your patience pays off January 17 with the Gran Turismo 5: XL Edition. More »

I’m happy to announce Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition, a brand-new version of Gran Turismo 5 packed with even more features, functionality, and content. Here’s what you can expect to find inside when it rolls out to stores starting January 17th:

Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition Contents

• Original Gran Turismo 5 game, featuring more than 1,000 cars, 20+ locations with 70+ track layouts, diverse racing styles including rally, track, karting, NASCAR, and more, deep online community features and online racing, plus Gran Turismo TV, Course Maker and more.
• All of the new and improved features and functionality from all free downloadable game updates up through Spec 2.0 included on the disc.
• Voucher good for over $20 worth of DLC content, including the Racing Car Pack, Car Pack 2, Course Pack, Racing Gear Pack, and Paint Pack.

The XL Edition will also feature a new reversible inside coversheet featuring the new Red Bull X2011 supercar, to add a different look to your game library shelf.

You’ll be able to pick up the XL Edition of Gran Turismo 5 after January 17 for just $39.99. Watch the blog and the official GT website for more news about Gran Turismo, DLC, and new Gran Turismo TV content available exclusively within the game.

We're going to go out on a limb and assume that Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition, a mysterious new version of GT5 that's recently turned up on Amazon, Newegg and Buy, isn't a DLC-packed Game of the Year-esque compilation re-release, but rather a literally extra-large version of the original. Bigger cars, bigger tracks, bigger disc, bigger box ... it probably even requires an extra-large PlayStation 3 to play it.

If you're a market analyst looking to make safe predictions, we guess you could infer that GT5 XL Edition is actually the stateside title for Japan's upcoming Gran Turismo 5 Spec II rerelease, but we prefer living on the edge and thinking outside of the box -- until Polyphony Digital makes an official announcement, of course, at which point all knowledge of this post will be disavowed.

Don't you hate those "car as a gift" commercials this time of year? If you're in the US, you'll probably know what we're talking about: There's a certain car company that shows commercials during the holidays with an actual car being given as a gift, as if there was some world out there where it was completely appropriate and practical to buy a whole vehicle, put a bow on it, and give it away as a gift. Whatever, Mr. Moneybags.

That said, Gran Tourismo 5 is breaking all the rules, and recently released not only Functionality Update 2.02 with some "community-inspired" improvements, but also the gift of a virtual Toyota 86 GT '12 vehicle (above) for all users. You don't have to pay insurance or registration on it, which, unlike a real car, makes it totally appropriate as a gift.

And Polyphony Digital has also released DLC Pack 2, which brings four new models to the game, including a Nissan GT-R, a Mini Cooper, and a VW Golf, and is available for $3.99 on the PlayStation Store. Four cars for four bucks is also a great gift. An actual vehicle and all of the responsibilities and payments that come with it? Just put the money in a gift card and we'll figure things out ourselves, thanks.

You probably wouldn't guess it by talking to one of us, but petrolheads do have the ability to get burnt out on a specific vehicle. It may take a long time, granted, but eventually we'll get bored with our current ride and wish that we had some new iron to tool around with. It's called "Gear Acquisition Syndrome" (GAS), and GAS can be devastatingly expensive if left unchecked.

Thankfully though, the GAS methadone clinic known as Gran Turismo 5 is here to keep those urges in check with a title update and several new sets of wheels, all of which become available on December 20. Car Pack 2 will set you back $3.99 and will furnish your ever-growing garage with a 2012 Nissan GT-R Black R35, a 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R, a 2010 Volkswagen Gold VI R and the 2011 Mini Cooper S. Additionally, anyone who has purchased GT5 DLC in the past will also receive the Gran Turismo Racing Kart 125 SP, which is go-kart for some reason.

The (free) 2.02 title update also includes a set of wheels: The recently revealed 2013 Toyota GT-86. Beyond that, the update boasts a slew of interface improvements and even nets you 10 oil change and car wash coupons (in-game, of course). Hopefully this will keep our greasy little mechanic hands busy enough to prevent us from taking out a second mortgage and buying that Thunderbird we've been eyeing.

#granturismo Next week, Gran Turismo 5 owners will get access to a load of new vehicles, some for money, some for free. More »

Still tearing up tracks in Gran Turismo 5? Well, developer Polyphony Digital some fuel for your tank. (Liking these car puns?) Car Pack 2 will come to the PlayStation Network next week along with update 2.02. The Car Pack will set you back $3.99 (3.99 Euros) and include the 2011 Mini Cooper S, 2...

Hey GT fans! We’re excited to announce all of the new content coming to Gran Turismo 5 next week, including our second round of DLC. Next week you’ll be able to download Car Pack 2 for $3.99 and add some fantastic new rides to your garage. Car Pack 2 includes the 2011 Mini Cooper S, 2010 Volkswagen Golf VI R, 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R, and the new and improved 2012 Nissan GT-R Black edition R35.

There’s more good news, because as a special gift anyone who purchased anything from the first batch of DLC will get unlock the Gran Turismo Racing Kart 125 SP and five New Car Refresh cards in the game for free. The refresh cards will take any car back to being ‘as good as new’ while maintaining any modifications or paint jobs you have given your motors. To take advantage of this offer, you’ll need to install the new downloadable update hitting next week.

The free downloadable update coming next week will also add several new enhancements to GT5 as well as correcting some reported issues. A few examples of the benefits of update 2.02 include:

• Users can now change wheels on Standard cars
• The settings sheets will include a new ‘copy’ feature
• In GT Auto, players will be able to see how the oil changes, aerodynamic parts, engine overhauls, and racing modifications will affect performance points and engine power, before and after their application
• Free coupons have been added that allow you to wash cars, change oil, overhaul your engine, or refresh the car body in GT Auto (10 coupons will be distributed for free to each of those who have downloaded the 2.02 update)
• Pressing the Square button in the car coupon selection screen of the Car Delivery will now allow you to exchange all car coupons at once, rather than doing one at a time
• In screens where the [Garage] and [Driver List] buttons are displayed in the A/B Spec events, Special Events, and Seasonal Events, pressing the Square button will now show the [Garage], and pressing the Triangle button will bring up the drivers list
• In My Lounge, the room settings will feature a new ‘Max. number of participants’ setting
• In the event selection screen of seasonal events, there are now ☆(star) marks that show the number of Gold Trophies attained in each event
• Improved racing sound effects
• Elements of the steering assist controls (used when using certain controllers on Racing Karts) have been tweaked

As an additional gift to players this holiday season, everyone who downloads the 2.02 update will also receive the stunning Toyota FT-86 2012 to add to their in-game collection.

One more note: Those who purchased the course and/or vehicle DLC that was released in October will be able to download Family Upgrade unlocks for free from the store. This means that if you bought the Racing Car Pack, Course Pack, or the ‘Complete Pack’ that contained both of these, by downloading the free Family Upgrade items, the content will now be accessible to more than just the user account that purchased the content. Family members or friends using the same PS3 can all use the courses and cars. Note that the upgrade doesn’t apply to the Racing Gear Pack or Special Paint Pack, and starting next week, new purchases will not have the restriction in place.

And don’t forget, there’s only one week left to compete in the special GT5 Time Trial Challenge and unlock a special edition Nissan GT-R for your garage. We hope you enjoy the free game updates, new cars and new batch of DLC. Drive safe!

#granturismo Mary Pozzi owns a sweet 1971 Camaro. It's so sweet, in fact, that Gran Turismo 5 developers Polyphony Digital have decided to put it in their video game. More »

Back for its 9th year, the Gran Turismo Awards is ready to crown a new performance vehicle with the honor of being digitally recreated in a future edition of the Gran Turismo franchise. The awards ceremony will be held this Thursday evening, November 3rd at 9:00pm (PST) at Marquee Nightclub, located in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel. In addition to the awards presentation, guests will be treated to a musical performance by Stone Temple Pilots to celebrate the evening in style.

The Gran Turismo Awards recognizes the best vehicles at the SEMA SHOW (Specialty Equipment Market Association) in five different categories: Best Hot Rod, Best Asian Import, Best European Import, Best Domestic Automobile, and Best Truck/SUV. After the five category winners are judged, one winner from each category is selected on performance and style by leading automotive media. From there, it falls to Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi to select the overall GT Awards “Best in Show” winner. Walking the show floor, Kazunori-san views each of the category winners and selects a vehicle that best represents the Gran Turismo brand; one that will be immortalized as a fully playable part of the Gran Turismo franchise for millions of fans around the world.

In addition to the music acts following the awards ceremony, guests will have a chance to check out the latest new features and content for Gran Turismo 5, including our recently released GT5 DLC.

For those who didn’t attend last year, here’s a look at our 2010 GT Awards “Best in Show” car, Mark Stielow’s red 1969 Chevy Camaro…

For those of you in town to attend SEMA this week, come on by with your badge to check out the awards event and a great concert. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

After a year of updates, culminating in the recent and significant Spec 2.0 update, the game Gran Turismo 5 was when it launched has been massaged into a markedly different one. Spec 2.0, a serious overhaul, was made available in the very same week Forza Motorsport 4 was launched on Xbox 360. Th...

#gallery Forza Motorsport 4 was released this month. It's a great game—a great-looking game, too. Gran Turismo 5, released last year, is also a great-looking game. But which one looks better? More »

Asia has Gran Turismo 5's latest downloadable content already. Europe gets it very soon. But in the US, it's been delayed until October 25. To make up for the wait, players will receive a "special bonus". More »

The hefty hunk of expansions for Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo 5 has been dated, priced and torn asunder. That is to say, you can buy each of the constituent parts of the update -- the tracks, the cars, the racing gear and the paint jobs -- separately, or as one big, $11.99 piece of DLC. Or, you could buy some of the piecemeal parts, and then the whole package, if you were a crazy person with tons of money to waste.

You'll be able to get your rich, crazy hands on the new content starting October 18. Meanwhile, the Functionality Update 2.0 that adds mid-race saving and other free features to the game, launches today.

#granturismo While we're still a week away from the big batch of downloadable content for Gran Turismo 5, the free 2.0 update drops today, delivering car interiors, 2011 NASCAR racers, and tons of fixes and tweaks, just in time to turn racing fans' heads away from Forza 4. More »

After revealing last week all of the great free content coming to Gran Turismo 5, which dropped to $39.99 as of last week, I’m happy to report that the Spec 2.0 update is now live for everyone to download and explore. And if you’re a PlayStation Plus member and have Automatic Downloads enabled, the next time you turn on your PS3 you might find that the update has already been installed. Otherwise, you can launch the game now and update GT5 to Spec 2.0.

The Spec 2.0 update enables you enjoy a new and improved GT5, including interior views for all standard cars, improved physics and AI, faster menus and load times, additional functionality and control in the online racing mode, updated 2011 NASCAR cars, a gorgeous new opening cinematic movie, and much more.

I mentioned last week that we also have a slew of downloadable content releasing on the PlayStation Store. Here’s an update on the content you can expect next week on October 18th.

Course Pack

The Course Pack ($4.99), will include two courses completely new to Gran Turismo. The first course is the world-famous Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps located in Spa, Belgium. At 7km long, this course is widely known as one of the most challenging race courses in the world due to its many twists and turns and elevation changes. And every inch of the track has been painstakingly recreated as only Polyphony can.

The second course is a flashy indoor karting arena designed by Polyphony Digital, and comes with two layouts to race. Lit with neon lighting, the kart arena not only showcases the beauty of GT5’s graphics and lighting engines, but also adds a crazy twist to the outdoor karting areas that shipped with GT5.

Racing Car Pack

The Racing Car Pack ($7.99) adds 11 custom PDI-designed custom touring editions of fan favorites like the Mazda RX-7, Subaru Impreza, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, Dodge Challenger SRT8, Nissan GT-R, Honda CR-Z, and even a race tuned Toyota Prius, among others. The pack also includes three new racing karts. But what makes the Racing Car Pack really cool is that it also features the never-before-seen Red Bull X2011 Prototype vehicle. The Red Bull X2010, a machine built for pure speed, was the ultimate prize in Gran Turismo 5, and the Red Bull X2011 Prototype is the next evolution in design. In other words, that’s 15 new vehicles to add to your collection and master.

Racing Gear Pack

Also available will be the Racing Gear Pack ($2.99), which features 90 pieces of racing gear, including racing suits and helmets, for your in-game drivers. Included are GT original design helmets and suits, white and black Alpinestars suits, the official 2010 and 2011 season racing suits and helmets of 4 top NASCAR drivers, and racing gear of 4 other celebrity race car drivers including Sebastien Loeb and Peter Solberg.

Paint Pack

And last but not least is the Paint Pack ($1.99), featuring 100 paint colors to customize your cars with. The pack includes new shades of matte, chrome and aluminum colors. It’s time to breathe some new life into your car collection.

While you can buy individual DLC packs, you can also buy it all at once as a bundle for just $11.99. PlayStation Plus subscribers will also get a nice discount on the bundle for the first month of release – more details on that soon.

And if you haven’t heard, this week is your chance to grab the Red Bull X2010, Sebastian Vettel model, which we are giving away for free this week to commemorate Vettel’s historic F1 championship win over the weekend. The Red Bull X2010 is a racing machine built for pure speed (up to 280mph, 0-60 in 1.4 seconds), built as a special partnership between Polyphony Digital and Red Bull Racing. If you haven’t completed all of the in-game challenges to unlock it in the game on your own yet, this is your chance to add this speed demon to your collection. See here for instructions on how to add it to your garage. This promotion is good this week only, so be sure to grab it before time runs out!

Finally, don’t forget to watch GT Academy Tuesdays on SPEED, and download full episodes from the Video Store side of PSN. Episode 4 debuts tonight at 7:00pm PST on SPEED and will be available this week on PSN, with the thrilling final episode premiering next week.

#granturismo Along with its big update, which is free, Gran Turismo 5 is also getting some paid DLC, which includes new cars, new courses, new clothes and...new paint colours. More »

The Official PlayStation Blog has official details on the official Gran Turismo 5 update, officially coming in the next few weeks. The new patch offers new official interior views for all of the cars in the game, reduced load times, adjustable weather conditions, the ability to save during an extended race, and updated photo and shuffle modes. The game will also now officially support the Logitech G25 and G27 racing wheels, and the patch even adds official (of course) versions of the 2011 Nascar racing cars.

And perhaps most exciting, Polyphony Digital will be officially dropping a "full batch of downloadable content" for Gran Turismo 5 in the next few weeks, including new vehicles, new tracks, and "some additional surprises." Sony says you can watch the official website for more details. And what's more, the official price on the game is officially dropping, down to $39.99.

Unofficially? With Forza Motorsport 4 due out next week, it sounds like Sony's aiming to do a little crowdpleasing among the Gran Turismo faithful.

#granturismo PlayStation 3 racing sim Gran Turismo 5 continues to evolve with the promised "Spec 2" update, Sony and developer Polyphony Digital announced today, giving virtual drivers more to see and do as the game approaches its first birthday. More »

If you have been keeping up with GT5, you know Polyphony Digital has been very diligent about releasing free updates to improve the game, especially the online racing mode. Ever since the launch, Kazunori Yamauchi and his team have been carefully studying posts on forums, reading comments on PlayStation.Blog posts and across Twitter, talking to fans at events, and more. The game has evolved a lot since last November, thanks in part to the dedicated GT fans voicing their opinions.

Now I’m here to share with you some very exciting news about the biggest FREE update yet, releasing in the next few weeks. It will add new features and even more functionality to your GT5 experience.

Polyphony learned that a lot of fans out there love driving using the game’s interior view, and has given some serious thought to it. With this new update, all cars in the game will now have interior views. Although the level of visual details will vary based on what car you choose, you can now race from behind the wheel of any car in the game. In addition, you’ll be able to get the 2011 season versions of the 11 NASCAR race cars for the first time.

Some of the other improvements introduced are greatly reduced load times when loading races, quicker menu response times, and adjustable opponent AI in Arcade Mode. Players will now have the option to save their progress during lengthy racing events so they can come back and finish at a later time, and can also adjust weather conditions for races using a slider function that goes from mild to severe.

The wildly popular Photo Mode has been updated to allow players to take pictures with their personalized driver avatars with customizable racing suits and helmets. You can even fast-forward and rewind race replays now to better capture that key moment in the race.

For those who enjoy racing online with your fellow gearheads, we’re expanding the shuffle race mode. As with the same feature in Gran Turismo PSP, this allows friendly competition between players of different skill levels. Players setting up online races will also have a host of new regulations available to customize their own events. New bonus incentives are introduced for players who log in and play on a consistent basis.

Truly hardcore racing fans will be stoked to hear that GT5 will now officially and fully support the Logitech G25 and G27 Racing Wheels.

The final piece of big news is that there will be a full batch of downloadable content for Gran Turismo 5 in the coming weeks. This DLC will of course include new vehicles and tracks, plus some additional surprises.

We’ll have more details very soon on the specifics of the DLC, so stay tuned, and check the blog and the official Gran Turismo website for further details.

I am ending this post with a comment from the man himself, Kazunori Yamauchi, president of Polyphony Digital and creator of the Gran Turismo franchise:

The coming Gran Turismo 5 Spec 2 update is an update that contains the feedback from the users playing GT5 online every day. We have added cars such as the newest NASCAR race cars, but many of the updates are those that improve usability and expand the field of game play. I believed from the initial release of Gran Turismo 5 that it would be the users that would make the game grow thereafter, and we added things like interior views for the standard models because there was a lot of request for it from our users. You could say that this update is the shape and form of GT5 that was created through the opinions of our fans.

And if you don’t have Gran Turismo 5 yet, now is the perfect time to get into the best-selling racing game. In addition to all of the great new content and free updates, as of this week you can pick GT5 up for only $39.99.