It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for auto enthusiasts and gaming fans! PlayStation and Polyphony Digital have teamed up with Nissan North America to bring you GT Academy, a competition using Gran Turismo 5 to win the ultimate prize – a chance to become a professional race car driver, starting December 20.

Whether or not you’re good enough to become a pro race driver doesn’t matter, because all participants will earn free digital content just for playing, as well as an opportunity to earn prizes for winning regional and national time trials. All participants will compete in a series of GT5 online trials using Nissan cars and will be narrowed down to the top 32 virtual racers in the U.S. They will be invited to compete to become one of 16 GT Academy finalists in the live national finals event in March 2011. The 16 finalists will compete in a series of challenges, including behind the wheel of real Nissan race cars, for a chance to become a professional race driver as the GT Academy winner. The ultimate GT Academy winner will train with elite race car drivers and race as part of a professional team.

And if that’s not exciting enough, the competitors’ road to victory will be documented in a multi-episode reality show airing exclusively on SPEED channel and the PlayStation Network in 2011.

Be sure to register first for GT Academy, which opens on December 6th at the official Gran Turismo website. Check out the official rules here, and visit the FAQ here for more information.

If you want to get a head start on GT Academy, be sure to pre-order Gran Turismo 5 to guarantee your copy of the game on November 24. Good luck, everyone!