Happenings

Gran Turismo 6 Is Here!

BY Keegan Gan

The spirit of racing returns exclusively on PlayStation 3 to deliver the most anticipated racing experience of the year.

Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong Limited (SCEH) has announced the worldwide release of Gran Turismo 6 (GT6), the latest version of the best-selling PlayStation  franchise available exclusively for PlayStation 3. Polyphony Digital Inc., developer of ‘the real driving simulator’, has delivered the most authentic experience to date in celebration of the franchise’s 15th Anniversary. Complete with the most realistic physics engine and massive online functionalities, GT6 offers a staggering collection of more than 1,200 of the world’s best cars and 37 tracks, featuring seven new venues that include the iconic Silverstone Circuit, Australia’s Mount Panorama and Spain’s Ascari Race Resort.

Gran Turismo’s creator and President of Polyphony Digital Inc., Kazunori Yamauchi, announced the full list of new features included in Gran Turismo 6 at a special launch event held on 2nd Dec 2013 in the historic City of Ronda. Included in Yamauchi-san’s presentation were models of an exciting new collaboration with Red Bull in the form of the Red Bull X2014 series, and sketches of several new Vision Gran Turismo concepts that were produced in collaboration with major automotive partners and are set to drive the future of automotive design.

“It’s incredible to see what we have accomplished in the last 15 years, but we’re not done innovating yet,” said Kazunori Yamauchi. “Gran Turismo began with an idea that we could carve a new type of racing game that pushes the boundaries of realism while inspiring the devotion of car enthusiasts around the world. To see how the franchise has evolved since then into a true automotive brand fuels Polyphony to continue defining and transforming the genre with games like Gran Turismo 6.”

Gran Turismo 6 delivers the most complete and expansive racing game on any console. Some of the key highlights revealed by Yamauchi-san include:

Expansive Roster of Cars – More than 1,200 cars in total and over 120 new cars have been added to the line-up in GT6. Fans can expect an even greater selection of cars, including historic cars, road cars and the latest race cars from popular series such as the FIA GT3, Le Mans Series, World Rally Championship and Nascar. For an out-of-this-world experience, players of Gran Turismo 6 will also be able to unlock a special event featuring the unique Lunar Rover vehicle.

World Famous Circuits – From the Nürburgring to the beautiful scenery of Andalucia, to a neon-lit original Kart course, Gran Turismo continues to recreate wonderful tracks, adding brand-new, real-world tracks such as Silverstone Circuit, Ascari Race Resort, Goodwood Hillclimb, Willow Springs International Raceway, Brands Hatch and Australia’s Bathurst Mount Panorama circuit, as well as original circuits including Gran Turismo Arena, Matterhorn and a revised Apricot Hill Raceway.

Driving the Future: Vision Gran Turismo – Polyphony Digital has agreements in place with 28 global automotive and other brands to create new car projects under the innovative Vision Gran Turismo initiative, underlining Gran Turismo’s unique standing in the automotive world. With Mercedes-Benz having already revealed a full-scale model of its AMG Vision Gran Turismo car two weeks ago at the LA Auto Show, a number of new teaser sketches have since been revealed by Yamaguchi-san. The programme celebrates 15 years of Gran Turismo and owners of GT6 can look forward to being among the first to try cars that are representative of the future of driving. The list of participating companies includes: Alfa Romeo, Alpine, Aston Martin, Audi, Bertone, BMW, Daihatsu, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Honda, Infiniti, Italdesign, Jordan, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nike, Nissan, Peugeot, Subaru, SRT(Chrysler), Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, Zagato.

BMW M4 Coupé to come to life in Gran Turismo 6 – Present at Ronda and Ascari Race Resort for the launch of Gran Turismo 6 was a camouflaged version of the yet-to-be- launched BMW M4 Coupé. The stunning new car – shown publicly only as a concept until now - will go on sale in 2014. Thanks to an innovative collaboration with BMW M GmbH, Polyphony Digital enjoyed unprecedented early access to the car during its development phase in order to meticulously recreate the M4 Coupé for Gran Turismo 6. It will be made available through a free update shortly after the release of GT6, allowing car enthusiasts around the world to drive it before it arrives in BMW showrooms. More news on the unveiling is expected soon!

Red Bull X Series revealed – Following the popular collaboration with Red Bull that spawned the Red Bull X2010, an Adrian Newey-designed ultimate race car, Gran Turismo 6 will go even further by featuring three new Red Bull cars: the Red Bull X2014 Fan car (X2014/F), the Red Bull X2014 Standard car (X2014/S) and the Red Bull X2014 Junior car (X2014/J). These three cars were designed by Polyphony Digital Inc. in collaboration with Adrian Newey, Chief Technical Officer of four-time F1 champions Red Bull Racing.

Gran Turismo 6 will be available at retailers from 5th December, 2013.