Latest news with #PolyphonyDigital
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
I Dropped $50 on This Rare Gran Turismo Demo and I Regret Nothing
If you're reading this website, you're probably nerdy about something—and I'm willing to bet it's not just cars. Maybe that leads you to hoarding memorabilia or working far too long on a project, never content to put the tools down. Oftentimes, such passions manifest in questionable financial decisions. I made one such purchase last weekend, when I dropped $50 on an old Gran Turismo demo disc with one car and one track, in a race the game won't even let you finish. Why would I do this? The disc I purchased at a gaming convention last weekend is called Gran Turismo 2000, and it was kind of a mystical thing back in my youth. After Gran Turismo 2 on the original PlayStation, developer Polyphony Digital naturally set its sights on bringing the smash-hit franchise to Sony's next-generation console. Its initial efforts materialized in builds of a project called GT2000, which first appeared at the Tokyo Game Show in late 1999, ahead of the PlayStation 2's Japanese launch the following March. GT2000 was shown a few more times at events over the next year: Once at Sony's PlayStation Festival 2000 in Chiba, Japan, in mid-February, and then months later at trade shows in the U.S. and U.K. as well. Those PlayStation Festival attendees, however, received GT2000 demo discs they could load into the PS2s they'd soon have, and this iteration of the game is the only one that has ever made its way into the public's hands. That's what I bought. Whether Gran Turismo 2000 was intended to be the third GT's title is unclear, but once the game slipped into 2001, Polyphony naturally chose a new name: Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. GT3 went on to be a juggernaut, understood to be the second-best-selling PS2 game ever, at least as of the last time anyone bothered to count. But GT2000 is almost nothing like it, even though it was compiled just 14 months before the final game hit stores in Japan. See, this is why I couldn't pass up an opportunity to own a copy of GT2000. With demo discs of yore, you'd typically get a slice of the full game; depending on when the demo was minted, it might even look or play a little differently from the finished article. But, to anyone who knows Gran Turismo, GT2000 barely feels like an early, work-in-progress snapshot of GT3. In fact, it feels more like GT2—and that's what makes it so special. In GT2000, you drive the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V around the Seattle Circuit, a track that first appeared in GT2. There are five opponents: a Honda NSX, FD Mazda RX-7, R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, Subaru Legacy B4, and Toyota Altezza, always in the same colors. The race isn't limited to laps, but rather a 120-second timer that is just about long enough to pass the finish line once. Then you get a replay, and then you're rudely punted back to the title screen. One song plays as you drive— 'Mirage' by Daiki Kasho—and it's kind of infamous for being obnoxious, but I love it. The car select menu (it's honestly more of a color and transmission select menu, because you can't choose another car) spits you out into a race with no countdown—just a rolling start where you immediately have control over your Evo. The first thing you notice is that the vehicle physics are pretty much a match for GT2's. The Lancer feels extremely light and tossable, and you can fling it into corners and pull off some effortless drifts that would require a bit more finesse with GT3's weightier, more nuanced handling model. GT3 drives well, of course, and certainly more realistically, but GT2's liveliness appeals to the arcade racing lover in me, and I have a lot more fun throwing around the Evo here than I do in the final game. This demo is rough, though. For one, walls don't slow you down much at all. If you turn around at the start and drive through a tire barrier, you can easily break out of the course's bounds. Computer-controlled opponents exit most corners wide and strike the guardrails. And the graphics are hardly stellar. Aside from the physics, this is the other big difference between GT2000 and GT3. The car models resemble GT2 assets with slightly more intricate geometry; their windows are still opaque black, just like on the PS1, while they'd be transparent in time for GT3's release. The Seattle Circuit itself also looks rather flat and simplistic, with lower-resolution textures throughout. Comparing key sections of the track across both games, you can see how Polyphony built far more detail into the environment and trackside scenery in little more than a year. The overpass that the circuit runs beneath after Turn 1, for example, is mostly flat in GT2000. In GT3, we see beams and cables in shadows. Further into the lap in GT2000, we pass Seattle's since-demolished Kingdome. In GT3, the Kingdome is still present, but resides next to Safeco Field, known as T-Mobile Park today. The Mariners' new home wasn't finished in time for the environment modelers to get it into GT2, so it's a nice touch that they were able to go back and include it in GT3. Indeed, GT3 is an objectively better experience, and history has proven that few developers were able to harness the PS2's power as well as Polyphony. And yet, there's something fascinating about seeing what is effectively GT2 running on more powerful hardware at double the framerate and a higher (albeit interlaced) resolution. For all its faults, it almost feels like a GT2 'Plus.' Audiences around the time of the demo's release were stunned by the heat haze effect Polyphony was able to convey in replays. It seems quaint now, but Gran Turismo was on the cutting edge of real-time graphics even then. Little details, like how GT2000's cars accurately reflect the environment they're in, rather than the vague, scrolling light effects you'd see in the PS1 games, represent serious steps forward. And all of it would be further refined for GT3. GT2000, then, is a fascinating snapshot of Gran Turismo at a precise moment in time, to a nerd like me. And, as Digital Foundry's John Linneman pointed out in his fantastic retrospective on the series that you ought to watch if you care about stuff like this, what makes GT2000 all the more special is how Polyphony improved upon it so profoundly in GT3. These days, it's sadly not uncommon for our first glimpse at a game to be markedly more impressive than the final shipping product, but Gran Turismo bucked that expectation in a big way. Personally, snagging a copy of this demo represents something else, for me: closure. I remember gaming magazines talking it up when I was a kid, and when GT3 eventually emerged, I wondered what happened to GT2000. Of course, it was never a secret—the final game literally missed the year 2000, and this disc was never released outside Japan—but these kinds of things carry a lot of weight when you're young. And I'm happy to say that there's been a positive development in my securing a copy of GT2000. Remember how I said that you could only drive the Evo in this game? I shared my purchase with members of the racing-game-centric Discord community I run. One of them goes by the name of Silent—he's the developer perhaps best known for fixing old Grand Theft Auto games so they run better than ever on PC. Silent built upon work done by another Gran Turismo modder years back, named Xenn, and is whipping up cheats that can be used in the PCSX2 emulator to remove GT2000's two-minute time limit and let the player drive any of the game's six cars. Neat stuff! It's unclear how many GT2000 discs Sony pressed for that Festival show, whether in the hundreds or the thousands. Either way, they're not impossible to find, and if I really wanted to, I could've scoured eBay for a copy years ago. Yeah, $50 is a lot, but you might be surprised to learn that it's a pittance compared to what some truly rare or high-demand games command nowadays. I could never bring myself to shell out the cash until the chance presented itself in person. Now that I have, surprise, surprise: I regret nothing. Got any memorabilia you love yet spent a stupid amount of money on? Email me at
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Gran Turismo 7 Adds the Baddest R34 GT-R of Them All in July Update
If you have been following Gran Turismo 7's updates this year, you may have noticed something strange. Polyphony Digital suddenly seems to be enamored with crossovers. It's a somewhat depressing trend; over the last six months, the game has received the prior-gen Honda CR-V, Peugeot 2008, Mazda CX-30, and Toyota C-HR. As July winds to a close, it looks like the Nissan Qashqai is about to join their ranks. I can stomach it, though, because on the other end of the spectrum, we're also getting the baddest R34 Skyline GT-R of them all, in the Nismo Z-Tune. GT7's Update 1.61 will go live in the early hours of Thursday morning, and it'll bring those two additions, as well as the Honda N-One RS: a modern kei car with a six-speed manual and turbocharged three-cylinder making the maximum 63 horsepower that Japan allows for vehicles in that class. The little Honda feels like one of those cars you'd expect to discover and fall in love with in a Gran Turismo game. The Qashqai, on the other hand, is a cynical reminder that the automotive landscape that the series reflects today is quite different from the one it materialized in during the late '90s. I understand that argument that today's crossovers are the compact commuters of yesteryear, but they're not as fun to drive or tune, with their tall centers of gravity and powertrains engineered for efficiency at the cost of all else. The CR-V that joined the game this past spring had a CVT, for example, which locks it out of any meaningful upgrades. The Nissan is expected to behave similarly, as it's a hybrid. At least in GT's early days, you could take your starter used Civic and upgrade it until it was nipping at the heels of Lancer Evos and Supras, but that just isn't possible with these small SUVs. So that leaves us with the Nismo Z-Tune, which isn't a terrible consolation prize at all. This is the ultimate R34 GT-R, commemorating the 20th anniversary of Nissan's performance arm back in 2004. Here, Nismo bored and stroked the twin-turbo RB26 to produce a staggering 500 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque, and added a titanium exhaust, Sachs bolt-on dampers, and bespoke Brembo brakes, just to name a few performance-minded goodies. Only 20 Z-Tunes were built, both to represent the anniversary and because, by 2004, the R34 GT-R was already out of production. Gran Turismo has always been known for representing the Skyline GT-R lineage perhaps a little too well, but the Z-Tune has somehow never appeared in the franchise before, so this is a big moment. Elsewhere, you can expect the usual drip feed of races, a new track for the Sophy AI to compete on (High-Speed Ring), and new Scapes locales to snap photos. I say it every time I cover one of these updates, but you've got to wonder how many more of these Polyphony has stashed before it packs up GT7 and moves right onto GT8. Then again, perhaps that won't land until the PlayStation 6 does. Got tips? Send 'em to tips@
The Drive
6 days ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
Gran Turismo 7 Adds the Baddest R34 GT-R of Them All in July Update
The latest car news, reviews, and features. If you have been following Gran Turismo 7's updates this year, you may have noticed something strange. Polyphony Digital suddenly seems to be enamored with crossovers. It's a somewhat depressing trend; over the last six months, the game has received the prior-gen Honda CR-V, Peugeot 2008, Mazda CX-30, and Toyota C-HR. As July winds to a close, it looks like the Nissan Qashqai is about to join their ranks. I can stomach it, though, because on the other end of the spectrum, we're also getting the baddest R34 Skyline GT-R of them all, in the Nismo Z-Tune. GT7's Update 1.61 will go live in the early hours of Thursday morning, and it'll bring those two additions, as well as the Honda N-One RS: a modern kei car with a six-speed manual and turbocharged three-cylinder making the maximum 63 horsepower that Japan allows for vehicles in that class. The little Honda feels like one of those cars you'd expect to discover and fall in love with in a Gran Turismo game. The Qashqai, on the other hand, is a cynical reminder that the automotive landscape that the series reflects today is quite different from the one it materialized in during the late '90s. I understand that argument that today's crossovers are the compact commuters of yesteryear, but they're not as fun to drive or tune, with their tall centers of gravity and powertrains engineered for efficiency at the cost of all else. The CR-V that joined the game this past spring had a CVT, for example, which locks it out of any meaningful upgrades. The Nissan is expected to behave similarly, as it's a hybrid. At least in GT's early days, you could take your starter used Civic and upgrade it until it was nipping at the heels of Lancer Evos and Supras, but that just isn't possible with these small SUVs. So that leaves us with the Nismo Z-Tune, which isn't a terrible consolation prize at all. This is the ultimate R34 GT-R, commemorating the 20th anniversary of Nissan's performance arm back in 2004. Here, Nismo bored and stroked the twin-turbo RB26 to produce a staggering 500 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque, and added a titanium exhaust, Sachs bolt-on dampers, and bespoke Brembo brakes, just to name a few performance-minded goodies. Only 20 Z-Tunes were built, both to represent the anniversary and because, by 2004, the R34 GT-R was already out of production. Gran Turismo has always been known for representing the Skyline GT-R lineage perhaps a little too well, but the Z-Tune has somehow never appeared in the franchise before, so this is a big moment. Sony Interactive Entertainment Elsewhere, you can expect the usual drip feed of races, a new track for the Sophy AI to compete on (High-Speed Ring), and new Scapes locales to snap photos. I say it every time I cover one of these updates, but you've got to wonder how many more of these Polyphony has stashed before it packs up GT7 and moves right onto GT8 . Then again, perhaps that won't land until the PlayStation 6 does. Got tips? Send 'em to tips@
The Drive
05-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
I Dropped $50 on This Rare Gran Turismo Demo and I Regret Nothing
The latest car news, reviews, and features. If you're reading this website, you're probably nerdy about something—and I'm willing to bet it's not just cars. Maybe that leads you to hoarding memorabilia or working far too long on a project, never content to put the tools down. Oftentimes, such passions manifest in questionable financial decisions. I made one such purchase last weekend, when I dropped $50 on an old Gran Turismo demo disc with one car and one track, in a race the game won't even let you finish. Why would I do this? The disc I purchased at a gaming convention last weekend is called Gran Turismo 2000 , and it was kind of a mystical thing back in my youth. After Gran Turismo 2 on the original PlayStation, developer Polyphony Digital naturally set its sights on bringing the smash-hit franchise to Sony's next-generation console. Its initial efforts materialized in builds of a project called GT2000 , which first appeared at the Tokyo Game Show in late 1999, ahead of the PlayStation 2's Japanese launch the following March. GT2000 was shown a few more times at events over the next year: Once at Sony's PlayStation Festival 2000 in Chiba, Japan, in mid-February, and then months later at trade shows in the U.S. and U.K. as well. Those PlayStation Festival attendees, however, received GT2000 demo discs they could load into the PS2s they'd soon have, and this iteration of the game is the only one that has ever made its way into the public's hands. That's what I bought. Whether Gran Turismo 2000 was intended to be the third GT's title is unclear, but once the game slipped into 2001, Polyphony naturally chose a new name: Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec . GT3 went on to be a juggernaut, understood to be the second-best-selling PS2 game ever, at least as of the last time anyone bothered to count. But GT2000 is almost nothing like it, even though it was compiled just 14 months before the final game hit stores in Japan. See, this is why I couldn't pass up an opportunity to own a copy of GT2000 . With demo discs of yore, you'd typically get a slice of the full game; depending on when the demo was minted, it might even look or play a little differently from the finished article. But, to anyone who knows Gran Turismo , GT2000 barely feels like an early, work-in-progress snapshot of GT3 . In fact, it feels more like GT2 —and that's what makes it so special. Adam Ismail, Sony Interactive Entertainment In GT2000 , you drive the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V around the Seattle Circuit, a track that first appeared in GT2 . There are five opponents: a Honda NSX, FD Mazda RX-7, R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, Subaru Legacy B4, and Toyota Altezza, always in the same colors. The race isn't limited to laps, but rather a 120-second timer that is just about long enough to pass the finish line once. Then you get a replay, and then you're rudely punted back to the title screen. One song plays as you drive— 'Mirage' by Daiki Kasho—and it's kind of infamous for being obnoxious, but I love it. The car select menu (it's honestly more of a color and transmission select menu, because you can't choose another car) spits you out into a race with no countdown—just a rolling start where you immediately have control over your Evo. The first thing you notice is that the vehicle physics are pretty much a match for GT2's . The Lancer feels extremely light and tossable, and you can fling it into corners and pull off some effortless drifts that would require a bit more finesse with GT3's weightier, more nuanced handling model. GT3 drives well, of course, and certainly more realistically, but GT2's liveliness appeals to the arcade racing lover in me, and I have a lot more fun throwing around the Evo here than I do in the final game. Breaking out of the course is shockingly easy in this demo. You can even drive up to a very crude billboard of the Space Needle. Adam Ismail, Sony Interactive Entertainment This demo is rough, though. For one, walls don't slow you down much at all. If you turn around at the start and drive through a tire barrier, you can easily break out of the course's bounds. Computer-controlled opponents exit most corners wide and strike the guardrails. And the graphics are hardly stellar. Aside from the physics, this is the other big difference between GT2000 and GT3 . The car models resemble GT2 assets with slightly more intricate geometry; their windows are still opaque black, just like on the PS1, while they'd be transparent in time for GT3's release. The Seattle Circuit itself also looks rather flat and simplistic, with lower-resolution textures throughout. Comparing key sections of the track across both games, you can see how Polyphony built far more detail into the environment and trackside scenery in little more than a year. The overpass that the circuit runs beneath after Turn 1, for example, is mostly flat in GT2000 . In GT3 , we see beams and cables in shadows. GT2000 on the left, GT3 on the right. They barely look like they are from the same console generation. Adam Ismail, Sony Interactive Entertainment Further into the lap in GT2000 , we pass Seattle's since-demolished Kingdome. In GT3 , the Kingdome is still present, but resides next to Safeco Field, known as T-Mobile Park today. The Mariners' new home wasn't finished in time for the environment modelers to get it into GT2 , so it's a nice touch that they were able to go back and include it in GT3 . These stadiums did actually exist simultaneously for a short time, but as I understand it, many of the roads near T-Mobile Park that GT's track used were removed decades ago. Seattle readers, feel free to weigh in. Adam Ismail, Sony Interactive Entertainment Indeed, GT3 is an objectively better experience, and history has proven that few developers were able to harness the PS2's power as well as Polyphony. And yet, there's something fascinating about seeing what is effectively GT2 running on more powerful hardware at double the framerate and a higher (albeit interlaced) resolution. For all its faults, it almost feels like a GT2 'Plus.' Audiences around the time of the demo's release were stunned by the heat haze effect Polyphony was able to convey in replays. It seems quaint now, but Gran Turismo was on the cutting edge of real-time graphics even then. Little details, like how GT2000's cars accurately reflect the environment they're in, rather than the vague, scrolling light effects you'd see in the PS1 games, represent serious steps forward. And all of it would be further refined for GT3 . GT2000 , then, is a fascinating snapshot of Gran Turismo at a precise moment in time, to a nerd like me. And, as Digital Foundry's John Linneman pointed out in his fantastic retrospective on the series that you ought to watch if you care about stuff like this, what makes GT2000 all the more special is how Polyphony improved upon it so profoundly in GT3 . These days, it's sadly not uncommon for our first glimpse at a game to be markedly more impressive than the final shipping product, but Gran Turismo bucked that expectation in a big way. Adam Ismail, Sony Interactive Entertainment Personally, snagging a copy of this demo represents something else, for me: closure. I remember gaming magazines talking it up when I was a kid, and when GT3 eventually emerged, I wondered what happened to GT2000 . Of course, it was never a secret—the final game literally missed the year 2000, and this disc was never released outside Japan—but these kinds of things carry a lot of weight when you're young. And I'm happy to say that there's been a positive development in my securing a copy of GT2000 . Remember how I said that you could only drive the Evo in this game? I shared my purchase with members of the racing-game-centric Discord community I run. One of them goes by the name of Silent—he's the developer perhaps best known for fixing old Grand Theft Auto games so they run better than ever on PC. Silent built upon work done by another Gran Turismo modder years back, named Xenn, and is whipping up cheats that can be used in the PCSX2 emulator to remove GT2000's two-minute time limit and let the player drive any of the game's six cars. Neat stuff! It's unclear how many GT2000 discs Sony pressed for that Festival show, whether in the hundreds or the thousands. Either way, they're not impossible to find, and if I really wanted to, I could've scoured eBay for a copy years ago. Yeah, $50 is a lot, but you might be surprised to learn that it's a pittance compared to what some truly rare or high-demand games command nowadays. I could never bring myself to shell out the cash until the chance presented itself in person. Now that I have, surprise, surprise: I regret nothing. Got any memorabilia you love yet spent a stupid amount of money on? Email me at
Miami Herald
20-06-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
11 Cars That Need To Be Added To Gran Turismo 7 ASAP
As a loyal and avid fanatic of the Gran Turismo racing video game franchise, having played the legendary driving simulator since the release of its second instalment way back in 1999, it's a video game that holds a dear place deep within my heart. Even today, Gran Turismo 7 remains one of the only video games I still play, and is one of my favorite racing games of all time. Despite the commendable achievements and my lengthy seat time in other racing games such as Forza Motorsport, Forza Horizon, Test Drive Unlimited 2, Need For Speed instalments, Assetto Corsa, Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition, Midnight Club: LA, Driver San Fransisco, and many more, no racing game has ever captivated my attention as much as Gran Turismo 7 has. With its immersive attention to detail, gorgeous visuals, well-curated track selection and vibrant car list, it's the only game that can truly scratch my itch to go for a drive as much as actually heading out for a drive–something I am extremely gracious to have discovered considering how expensive gas and insurance can be. Polyphony Digital released Gran Turismo 7 way back in 2022, and with consistent free updates being rolled out on an almost-monthly basis, its car list is ever-growing. Despite this, many longtime fans of the iconic franchise remain vocal that the game's vehicle selection lacks the diversity found in past Gran Turismo instalments. In Gran Turismo 6, Polyphony's developers employed a two-tier model system, including "detailed cars" and "simple cars," which allowed the game to feature over 1,200 unique vehicles, compared to just over 400 vehicles contained within Gran Turismo 7. Although Polyphony made the intentional and frankly commendable decision to drop "standard cars" from the game in an effort to provide more focused attention to detail for the vehicles that are included and to maximize beautification, many of the "detailed cars" from Gran Turismo 6 are still missing from the franchise's seventh and most recent instalment, despite having high-quality models and brand licensing rights. Although there are more than just fifteen examples of "detailed cars" in GT6 that didn't make the cut for GT7, the following fifteen cars are the ones we miss the most, in no particular order. Packing 217 horsepower made from a naturally-aspirated K20A 2.0-liter four-cylinder with an 8,400 rpm redline, it's genuinely surprising that the 2004 Integra Type R has yet to see the light of day in Gran Turismo 7, especially considering the massive popularity of the Integra Type R's previous generation within the game. Despite its front-wheel drive mechanicals, the Integra Type R earned its reputation for its rear-wheel drive-esque handling dynamics, light and balanced weight, and its sprightly, high-revving powertrain. Although you'll be able to find the 1999 Honda S2000 (AP1) occasionally in Gran Turismo 7's used car dealership, the updated, larger-displacement 2006 Honda S2000 (AP2) is absent in the game, despite its availability as a "detailed car" in Gran Turismo 6. With a 2.2-liter displacement, the AP2 Honda S2000 drops its redline from 9,000 rpm to just 8,000 rpm, but packs 235 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque beneath its bonnet. Power is sent exclusively to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission, making a perfect platform to toss around a truck in Gran Turismo or to modify into a precision track machine. With a fierce, growling supercharged 5.0-liter V8 under the hood producing up to 542 horsepower, the 2011 Jaguar XKR-S is a serious high-performance machine that even gives far more expensive Aston Martins a run for their money. Thankfully, for now, the Jaguar F-Type R satiates our thirst for supercharged V8 Jaguar goodness in Gran Turismo 7, but we think the hardened, track-focused XKR-S would look fantastic alongside its baby brother in GT7's lauded photo mode. With its screaming, 661-horsepower naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V12, the 2009 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce seems like it would be an ideal addition to Gran Turismo 7. Although the game features the standard variant of the Lamborghini Murcielago and the SuperVeloce variant of the more recent Aventador, the striking hues of the Murcielago SV's vibrant paint colours and the polarizing screech of its high-strung V12 are sorely missed. The 2007 Lexus IS F is what happens when you cross precision Japanese engineering with the brute force of a V8 muscle car and the agile dynamics of a compact sport sedan. A cult classic in its own right, powered by a naturally-aspirated, 416-horsepower 5.0-liter V8, paired with rear-wheel drive, seems like the perfect recipe for an in-game BMW M3 fighter. Using a recipe akin to that of the timelessly iconic Shelby Cobra, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage stuffs a massive, 6.0-liter V12 into a small sports car chassis originally designed for a much smaller, 4.3-liter V8. With supercar-like horsepower and agile dynamics, the V12 Vantage can be quite a handful on a racetrack–exactly what longtime Gran Turismo players pine for. Sure, calculated and tame racing cars offer drivers precision tools for record lap times, but sometimes players just want something unhinged to challenge their own abilities. We'd love to see this hardcore machine in Gran Turismo 7 soon. The inclusion of the ever-iconic Mazda MX-5 in the Gran Turismo franchise seems inevitable, but Gran Turismo 7 seems to lack many variants of the MX-5 that seem like no-brainers to add into the game. Without the MX-5's second, NB generation, without the latest, ND-generation MX-5's 2.0-liter powered variant, and without the MX-5's third, NC generation, MX-5 buyers get the short end of the stick when they power up their PlayStations. One of the most insane performance station wagons of all time, the 2008 Audi RS 6 Avant saw a twin-turbocharged, 5.0-liter V10 shoehorned into the front of a luxurious family estate car. With the recent additions of other family-friendly vehicles such as the Honda CR-V, Toyota C-HR, and the Mazda CX-30, one would think that a 580-horsepower, turbocharged V10-powered station wagon would be a better fit for a racing game franchise that wants to include family cars. Only time will tell if we'll ever see this monster in another Gran Turismo game. A favourite amongst AMG fanatics, the naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V8-powered 2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG seems like it should be an obvious addition to Gran Turismo 7, combining the brute force of a 451-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 with the oversteer-happy dynamics of the W204-generation Mercedes C-Class. Perhaps one day we'll be blessed with this brute in the virtual world of Gran Turismo once again, or better yet, the ferocious C63 AMG Black Series coupe. Something of a high-water mark for the performance sedan, the 2008 BMW M5 paired a mid-size executive sedan with a high-strung, 500-horsepower, naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V10 and rear-wheel drive. Although the BMW M5 (E60) came equipped with BMW's notoriously finicky SMG-II sequential transmission, North American buyers had the option for a more traditional six-speed manual transmission–a recipe that resulted in one of the most beloved sport sedans of all time, and its appreciating market values are beginning to reflect this feat. Please, Polyphony, hear our cries, and bless us with this true God amongst mere sport sedan mongrels. A Pininfarina-penned masterpiece, Ferrari's 599 GTB is a fine example of the Italian legacy marque's excellence in crafting extraordinarily beautiful V12-powered Grand Tourers. And, well, isn't that precisely what Gran Turismo is all about? Although the gorgeous Ferrari F12 has been included in GT7 since day one, and the polarizing 812 Superfast recently made its in-game debut last month with the game's most recent update, we'd love to see the 599 included to further complete the Ferrari V12 Grand Tourer lineage in the racing game. As Polyphony Digital rolls out occasional updates containing oddball vehicles like kei trucks and mundane crossovers like the Toyota C-HR and Honda CR-V, fans are left wondering why we're given access to hybrid SUVs and diesel-powered Unimogs when iconic performance cars like the ones mentioned here are being withheld. Hopefully, Polyphony Digital will hear our cries and grant us more performance-oriented modern classics instead of dull crossovers and other vehicles that seem genuinely out of place in a game that brands itself as the ultimate racing simulator. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
