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Recap of the 7th Annual Gran Turismo Awards

20:09-11-06T18:29:44-0500

On Wednesday, November 4, PlayStation hosted the 7th annual Gran Turismo (GT) Awards in Las Vegas, taking place in conjunction with the 2009 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show. SEMA Show participants were invited to submit their cars for consideration in the GT Awards, and a select panel of judges picked the top winner for each of five categories--Domestic, Truck/SUV, Hot Rod, Asian Import, and European Import. Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of the Gran Turismo franchise, carefully inspected each vehicle and learned about their history and performance from the owners themselves.

In the end there could be only one, and Yamauchi's pick for Best In Show was revealed at the Gran Turismo Awards ceremony, hosted by Ashley Van Dyke at the Rain nightclub at the Palms hotel. There was a fantastic turnout to find out who would go home with the coveted award and see their pride and joy digitally re-created to be a playable car in a future installment of Gran Turismo. And that prestigious honor went to Phil Koenan and Todd Garthshore for their black 1970 Ford Mustang Trans-Cammer.

Once the awards were given out, attendees were treated to a special live performance by the The Offspring, followed by a hard-hitting set by DJ Z-Trip.

Visit here to read comments from the previous two winners and their impressions of driving their winning cars in the Gran Turismo 5 demo on display at the party.

6 New Top Gear Episodes Added

20:09-11-06T05:33:02-0500

In Gran Turismo TV of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, we have begun the distribution of six new Top Gear episodes.

We have also prepared free trailer movies introducing highlights for each of these programs, and invite you to take a look!

Top Gear Series 11 Episode 1 "The homemade police cars"

Top Gear Series 11 Episode 2 "The skiers taking on Audi's RS6"

Top Gear Series 11 Episode 3 "The cheap Alfas"

Top Gear Series 11 Episode 4 "The race across Japan"

Top Gear Series 11 Episode 5 "The fox-hunting"

Top Gear Series 11 Episode 6 "Us giving the Germans a kicking"

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Gran Turismo Award Winners

20:09-11-03T09:44:12-0500

Enjoy this batch of screenshots of past winners of the Gran Turismo Awards, held in Las Vegas at the SEMA show. Seen are the 2007 HPA Motorsports FT565 twin turbo Audi TT from the 2007 awards, and the 2007 Infiniti high end performance G37 from the 2008 awards. Check back here at the official Gran Turismo website to find out who wins the 2009 Gran Turismo Award.

The 7th Annual Gran Turismo Awards at SEMA are Coming November 4

20:09-10-30T12:12:00-0400

As part of the annual SEMA Convention in Las Vegas, the Gran Turismo Awards recognize the best vehicles shown at SEMA in five different categories. The culmination of the awards is the Best in Show vehicle, which is personally selected from the category winners by none other than Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi and announced at the highly anticipated Gran Turismo Awards ceremony. The winning Best in Show vehicle will join a prestigious group of previous winners that have been enshrined in digital form in the world’s best driving simulator as a playable vehicle in a future Gran Turismo release. This year the Gran Turismo Awards will be held on November 4 at the Rain Nightclub at the trendy Palms hotel, with doors opening at 9PM.

Leading into SEMA and the GT Awards, exhibitors are invited to submit their car for consideration by a panel of five judges, each handling a category including Best Hot Rod, Best Asian Import, Best European Import, Best Domestic Automobile, and Best Truck/SUV. The judges all represent leading automotive media, and each one will judge vehicles based on those entrants that exhibit the strongest balance of performance and style, worthy of the GT franchise.

When the five category winners are selected, it then falls to Kazunori Yamauchi to select the overall GT Awards “Best in Show.” Walking the show floor, Kazunori-san views all category winners and selects the vehicle that best represents the Gran Turismo brand, and one that will be immortalized as a fully playable part of the Gran Turismo franchise for millions of fans around the world. The culmination of the event is the GT Awards ceremony where each category winner is announced and the overall winner is presented with the trophy for Best in Show and the honor of having their vehicle included in a future release of Gran Turismo. Following the awards ceremony is a celebration for all attendees, including participation from top music acts and a chance to check out the latest gameplay in the Gran Turismo franchise.

Check here for a recap of the 2008 Gran Turismo Awards, and here for a video recap of the event. Go here for a video of the 2007 Gran Turismo Awards. Both of the winners from these two events, the 2007 HPA Motorsports FT565 twin turbo Audi TT from the 2007 awards, and the 2007 Infiniti high end performance G37 from the 2008 awards, will be playable in Gran Turismo 5.

Gran Turismo at Voodoo Experience in New Orleans

20:09-10-28T12:00:00-0400

Visitors to this weekend’s Voodoo Experience music festival (October 30 – November 1) in New Orleans can stop by the PlayStation® Central tent to check out the latest games on display. Gran Turismo for PSP will have its own area where attendees will have a chance to win VIP passes or stage viewing passes for the show by getting the fastest lap times in daily competitions. Plus, on Saturday, festival-goers can compete to win one of three passes to meet the band Wolfmother and play against the band’s bassist. Wolfmother is featured in the in-game soundtrack for Gran Turismo.

Voodoo Experience is a multi-day music festival in New Orleans, Louisiana, now in its eleventh year.

Gran Turismo® Ultimate Fan Contest Announced

20:09-10-22T21:49:18-0400

A new contest, following days after the launch of the Gran Turismo PSP Entertainment Pack, was announced today on the PlayStation Blog looking for the ultimate Gran Turismo fan.

Gran Turismo fans are invited to enter, through November 22, 2009, via video, essay or slideshow presentation, to prove they are the ultimate Gran Turismo® fan. At the end of the contest, the top 10 winners will be picked and announced in early December.

The first place winner will earn the “driver” racing suit, helmet and gloves worn by Rhys Millen during the Gran Turismo TV commercial shoot. In addition, the first place winner will also receive a Gran Turismo PSP® Entertainment Pack featuring a Mystic Silver PSP-3000 system, a copy of Gran Turismo, a PlayStation Network voucher for The Italian Job movie, a 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, a voucher for the exclusive white version of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and a Sony Music Pass voucher for 10 free songs. In addition, the first place winner will also receive a Gran Turismo poster signed by Rhys Millen and Tanner Foust, stars of the Gran Turismo commercial.

The second place winner will get the racing suit, gloves, and open-face helmet worn by the “passenger” in the TV commercial, Tanner Foust, plus a Gran Turismo PSP Entertainment Pack and a Gran Turismo poster signed by Rhys Millen and Tanner Foust.

The third place winner will win a Gran Turismo PSP Entertainment Pack, and a Gran Turismo poster signed by Rhys Millen and Tanner Foust.

Additionally, the next seven winners will all receive a Gran Turismo poster signed by Rhys Millen and Tanner Foust.

To enter, email your video (up to 2 minute), essay (1 page) or slideshow presentation to PlayStation_Community_Support@playstation.Sony.com with “GT PSP Contest Entry” in the subject line. Visit here for official entry rules. Contest open to US residents only and runs through November 22, 2009.

Check back here at the official Gran Turismo website for North America for the announcement of the winners and other Gran Turismo news.

New Gran Turismo 5 Screenshots (Part 3)

20:09-10-15T04:00:01-0400

The last weekly batch of screenshots for October 2009 features a variety of high performance race and rally cars, as well as damage effects and detailed car models showing roll cages and shock absorbers.

New Gran Turismo 5 Screenshots (Part 2)

20:09-10-08T04:00:54-0400

Here is the second weekly batch of screenshots for Gran Turismo 5 featuring the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG, just unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Dodge Viper ACR, and a variety of other cars.

New Gran Turismo 5 Screenshots (Part 1)

20:09-10-02T01:19:04-0400

Once a week for the next 3 weeks, we will be bringing you new screen shots from the version of Gran Turismo 5 shown at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show.

Part 1 includes the "Ferrari 458 Italia" that debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, and the "Lamborghini Gallardo", staged on the "Tokyo Route 246". In addition to the detailed, alluring cars, check out the beautifully reproduced urban course, in which you can almost feel the air around you.

Gran Turismo for PSP® List of Featured Cars

20:09-10-01T09:21:57-0400

We have released the list of cars featured in Gran Turismo for PSP®, on sale October 1st.

There are over 800 cars, the biggest in scale across the entire Gran Turismo series. In addition to sportscars from Japan and other countries, enjoy the huge selection of rare historic cars, and race cars that have left their name in a variety of racing scenes around the world.

Gran Turismo for PSP® List of Featured Cars

* There are other special limited edition cars that are not shown on this list.