The online gaming element of the competition gets under starter’s orders this July via a demo of the just-announced Gran Turismo 6 exclusively on PlayStation 3.

Since it began in 2008, the acclaimed virtual-to-reality competition has attracted over two million entries, with gamers and motor sport fans battling it out in Gran Turismo for the chance to become real Nissan racing drivers. Six former winners of the competition, which now runs in Europe, the USA, Germany, Russia, the Middle East and South Africa, are now Nismo Athletes competing in top-level motor sport on behalf of Nissan.

Nissan’s Director of Global Motorsport, Darren Cox, revealed the plans for GT Academy 2013 today at the famous Silverstone Circuit, at the same event where Kazunori Yamauchi announced Gran Turismo 6.

“At its core GT Academy remains a highly-accessible route into professional motor racing for people who would otherwise not have the opportunity. Unearthing genuine driving talent from the world of gaming is a real example of digital age performance and the innovation for which Nissan is famous.

“We are predicting that more people than ever will enter the competition this year on the stunning new GT6 demo.”

Kazunori Yamauchi, President of developer Polyphony Digital, added: “GT Academy is a fitting platform for the Gran Turismo community to preview GT6 for the first time, as we aim to bring the worlds of virtual and reality closer than ever.

“We are very proud of this partnership with Nissan, and we have aimed to make a very appealing and accessible competition featuring a range of their cars. The challenges, even at this early stage of the competition, are designed to improve people’s race craft before they even make it to driving real cars.

“We have also incorporated the Silverstone circuit for the first time in Gran Turismo. This should ensure that competitors will arrive at Race Camp better prepared than ever.”

Winning GT Academy is a passport to a career in global motorsport, with Lucas Ordoñez (2008 winner) and Jann Mardenborough (2011 winner) racing at the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours for Nissan Nismo.

The latest graduates Wolfgang Reip from Belgium (European winner), Mark Shulzhitskiy (Russian winner), Steve Doherty (US winner) and Peter Pyzera (German winner) are currently competing in the Blancpain Endurance Series in a pair of Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 cars.

The format of GT Academy sees the fastest PlayStation gamers from each country join winners from a number of live events to compete in their respective National Finals. The action will then make the transition from the virtual world to real Nissan sports cars when the winners of each national competition are invited to take part in the intense international final at Silverstone Circuit, now the established home of the GT Academy Race Camp.

The winners of each of the GT Academy competitions will then be put through an intensive and thorough Driver Development Program, rated among the best in the world, in order to qualify for the ultimate competition prize – a full season racing a Nissan GT-R GT3 Nismo in a top-level championship.

Details of how to enter GT Academy 2013 can be found on Facebook, Twitter and the official Gran Turismo site. Good luck!

Greetings PlayStation.Blog. Today we’re really excited to announce that Gran Turismo 6 will be released Holiday 2013. The news was revealed today by legendary GT creator Kazunori Yamauchi himself at our Silverstone event held to celebrate 15 years of the 70-million-selling series.

GT6 for PlayStation 3 will see many enhancements, improvements and additions to the game. bringing new levels of authenticity to ‘the Real Driving Simulator’. Features revealed today include stunning new tracks and cars and an overhauled user interface. There’s also a new engine, which will improve game operation. Meanwhile, we are set for expanded connectivity with other devices, and increased social and community functions.

The cars and tracks from Gran Turismo 5 — which has now sold over 10 million copies since launching in 2010 — will return in GT6, but notable new additions will bring the car lineup to over 1,200. Players will also be able to customize their rides to a greater extent than ever before.

Amongst the track line-up, the UK’s famous Silverstone Circuit will be just one of seven new locations in Gran Turismo 6, taking the total to 33, with 71 different layouts available — 19 of them brand new. This already impressive lineup of cars and tracks will be added to by future DLC drops beginning after launch.

Enhancements and improvements also extend to a much-improved course maker function, which will provide several kilometers of gorgeous scenery, including the magnificent backdrop of Andalucía. The course maker will also include a new GPS data feature, which will increase the freedom of track creation in the game.

“It is amazing to think that it is 15 years since we first released Gran Turismo,” said Kazunori Yamauchi, during the announcement at Silverstone Circuit. “Things have changed a lot since then and now Gran Turismo 6 is a further evolution of my dream. We’re pleased to deliver GT 6 to PlayStation 3 as we have a very loyal community on that platform. However, we have refactored the game to make it very flexible and expandable, with a view to making many future developments.

“I am very pleased with everything about the new game and the new additions, but the launch will only be the beginning for GT6. The game will continue to develop throughout its life. I already have many ideas for things I want to achieve in the next 15 years of Gran Turismo!”

Further news about Gran Turismo 6 will be revealed at the forthcoming E3 and Gamescom events, and on www.gran-turismo.com.

A little over 15 years ago, what was then a small Japanese studio (headed up by Kazunori Yamauchi) embarked upon on a journey that would enrich the lives of many millions of gamers. The journey that the team undertook set new benchmarks in graphics, game physics and sheer entertainment factor.

That studio eventually became known as Polyphony Digital, and the brand they created was — of course — Gran Turismo.

15 years after that seminal moment, and after who knows how many billions of miles driven collectively by Gran Turismo gamers all over the world, I am very pleased to announce a special Gran Turismo 15th Anniversary Event taking place May 15th at Silverstone Race Circuit, England.

The event will be a celebration of all that Gran Turismo has come to represent to a community of millions all over the world, and will involve many of the car manufacturers who have been part of that incredible 15 year journey.

At the event, Kazunori Yamauchi will also be making some exciting announcements about the future of the brand. Activities will be covered live right here on PlayStation.Blog, at gran-turismo.com, and on Twitter (#15YearsOfGT).

To whet your appetite for what is to come for the real driving simulator, watch the trailer below.

Twin Ring Motegi Pack (2 tracks, 4 layouts)
The Twin Ring Motegi is a racing circuit located in Japan that has both an oval and road course. The 2.4km oval ‘Superspeedway’ is mainly used as the stage for American motorsports, while the 4.8km road course is used for races like the Super GT and Formula Nippon.

In addition to these two tracks, the Twin Ring Motegi Pack also includes the West and East courses that are formed by separating the first and latter half of the road course, letting you enjoy the different technical layouts of the Motegi Track

Price: $5.00

Scion FR-S ’12
The long awaited compact FR (front engine, rear wheel drive) sportscar from Scion carries a 2-liter horizontally opposed engine that gives it a very low center of gravity and great weight distribution, and the car is specifically designed throughout to provide driving pleasure. The car is a brother of the Toyota 86 sold in Japan, and its front engine-rear wheel drive layout makes it perfect for learning sports driving techniques. Put one in your garage!

Price: FREE

For more information, be sure to check out Gran Turismo.com