French car maker Citroën drove its "GTbyCitroën" concept car from the perpetually "coming soon" Gran Turismo 5 around London streets recently. It toured the the real-life version of a street track from the game and, wouldn't you know it, people everywhere were going nuts. Busting out cameras, mouths agape staring while the car rumbled past -- it's as if they'd never seen such a purty car before.

Oh right! That's because they haven't ever seen the car before, because it's still a concept, unveiled at last year's Paris Auto Show as a collaboration between Polyphony Digital and Citroën. We have the full video after the break, but as you might imagine, it's not exactly nailing apexes and drafting opponents so much as slowly winding around pedestrian-filled British streets. With any luck, we'll have a more ... erm ... action-oriented video of the car soon for your viewing pleasure, as it'll be making an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this coming weekend.

While perusing through the Joystiq Pile o' E3 Trailers™, we realized we had forgotten to post this gorgeous direct-feed footage of Gran Turismo 5. It flashed by too quickly during the Sony press conference for us to truly understand all the new features hidden in the trailer. Here's what we noticed:

• Damage!
  We captured this still frame from the trailer, showing off what appears to be a new damage model for vehicles. Look at the bent hood, the crack on the car's side. Are those scratches in the car's paint? We think so.
• FIA World Rally Championship
  The off-road challenges in Gran Turismo 5 look absolutely gorgeous, showcasing the engine's impressive ability to render particles.
• NASCAR
  This is a huge license for GT5 to feature as NASCAR fans are as hardcore as they come. With EA Sports slowly pulling away from the franchise, hardcore racing enthusiasts will turn to GT for their fix. The vehicle liveries look accurate -- important for the NASCAR fan.
  
• New cockpit view
  Finally, we were treated to a second of footage from what appears to be a new cockpit view. The camera seems to be pulled farther back, revealing more of the drivers inside. It doesn't seem practical for races, but it is very dramatic.

What else can you pinpoint in the trailer? Check it out after the break.

It's been a long time coming, but Gran Turismo PSP is finally coming out. Finally re-revealed at the Sony press conference, Gran Turismo is shaping up to be a thoroughly comprehensive experience worthy of the franchise moniker. Our first hands-on with Gran Turismo (on a PSP go) left us impressed, a good thing considering its official release is not too far away: October 1st.

Obviously, the most immediately striking aspect of the game must be its visuals. During the conference, we stated the game looked just as good as GT4 on PS2. Upon closer look on the PSP go, it's clear that the visuals are downgraded a bit. But really, just a bit. Anyone that looks at GT running on the PSP will be impressed that handheld technology has gone so far to create such detailed visuals at 60 fps.

The Gran Turismo series attempts to recreate the most realistic driving sim on the marketplace, but it's clear the PSP game won't be able to match the fidelity of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on PS3. The PSP controls hinder the experience a bit -- and no, we're not crying for a second analog stick. The lack of analog buttons make a difference in the way series vets may play the game.

Hot on the heels of the PSP Go announcement, Sony also tells us at E3 that Gran Turismo may finally see release on the system. They say that even though the game will be on the tiny system, it will be packed with content: 800 cars to race around on 35 tracks with multiple variations that actually allow for 60 different race route. In singleplayer, you'll be able to run singleplayer time trials, and there will also be a mode to help your driving improve. Multiplayer will bring ad hoc four player racing as well as the ability to trade cars back and forth with your friends.

The game will release on October 1, right alongside the new PSP system.

In a leaked interview in the June issue of Qore, Sony's John Koller revealed new game announcements Sony is set to make at its E3 2009 press briefing. Among the titles mentioned are (a previously revealed) Jak & Daxter PSP and a re-emergence of Gran Turismo for the handheld -- first revealed when the PSP was announced.

Koller also mentions a new Metal Gear Solid for PSP is in the works, which may be the subject of the current Kojima Productions countdown nonsense (seriously, stop). Also, around the 15 second mark of the leaked Qore video, footage appears that bares a striking resemblance to Warhawk -- but (as comments have pointed out) the ship appears apart of the Jak & Daxter footage reel. Other clips include footage of LittleBigPlanet and Jak & Daxter.

Let's hope, for Sony's sake, this video doesn't encapsulate the lion's share of announcements the company was planning for June 2. Incidentally, crack out those bingo cards and a big red marker ... you have a few things to cross off.

Polyphony Digital continues to work diligently on things that aren't Gran Turismo 5 or Gran Turismo PSP. Their latest project is the "Gran Turismo Cafe," located at the Twin Ring Motegi race circuit in Japan. We're not sure how one would describe a cafe based on the popular race sim other than "realistic."

Don't expect exclusive access to Polyphony's upcoming projects at the cafe. Instead, those that attend the cafe will be able to play Gran Turismo 5 Prologue at one of three play booths. Boo.

Here's our new weekly feature, Cool Stuff for Sunday (a pretty straightforward name, we think). Here, we'll highlight some of the cool things we couldn't get to during the rest of the week.

• Hitler responds to Killzone 2 reviews (NSFW)
• What would Gran Turismo 6 look like?
• Fan-made portable PSone
• Killzone 2 "Super Bowl" ad
• Weekly Trophy Portal update
• PS Nation podcast - Episode 98 "Dumped"

Despite what series creator Kazunori Yamauchi had to say to us on the topic during E3, Spanish newspaper El Financiero quotes SCEE executive James Armstrong as stating that Gran Turismo 5 (the full, real deal – not Prologue 2 or some-such) will be released in Europe "by Christmas 2009." This is, of course, concerning a series that's been historically fast and furious loose with release dates.

GTPlanet – which is part of the chain of custody on this rumor – speculates that, if true, we could see a summer 2009 release for GT5 in Japan and a late 2009 / early 2010 launch in the West. This scenario would certainly follow the staggered roll-outs of previous Gran Turismo titles to a (Model) T.

[Via Evil Avatar]

What happens when you take four PS3 systems, one copy of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, and a Sony SRX-110 projector and put them all together? Well, you get one incredible GT experience. At the 10th Anniversary Party in New York City, Polyphony Digital ran an interesting experiment, where they were able to render the game in a glorious 2160p resolution. That's four times the resolution of the current maximum standard for HDTVs: 1080p.

The application is surprisingly simple. Each PS3 is dedicated to rendering one part of the enhanced 2160p image, with each PS3 rendering one full 1080p image. When combined, all four images turn into something that would make videophiles cry.

That wasn't the only fun and games at the event. No, Polyphony also ran another experiment with 4 PS3s: they were also able to create a 240 fps experience. Each PS3 would render alternating 60 frames per second, so that the end result would be blisteringly fast. At that point, we doubt the human eye would be able to appreciate such fluidity.

So, guys -- how 'bout you stop partying and making amazing 2160p tech demos, and uh -- you finish Gran Turismo 5? Please?

[Via PlayStation Boards]

The SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show was home to this year's Gran Turismo Awards. Winning vehicles of the Gran Turismo Awards will be included in future Gran Turismo games -- maybe even the mythical will-it-ever-release Gran Turismo 5. Series producer Kazunori Yamauchi judged the five finalists to select the "Best of Show" winner.

This year's winners include:

• "Best Japanese Import" - JR Rocha with his custom 2007 Infinity G37
• "Best Truck/SUV" - John Wargo for his 1938 Chevy
• "Best European Import" - Robert Gal this year for his Volkswagon Concept car.
• "Best Domestic" - James Shipka for his 1967 Chevrolet Camero Rally Sport "Big Red."
• "Best Hot Rod"- Jason Lavigne for the Factory Five Racing 1933 Hot Rod.

Polyphony Digital boss Kazunori Yamauchi confirmed this back in July, but If you needed further confirmation that Gran Turismo PSP is actually in development, we've got you covered. Speaking at TGS, the head of Sony Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida stated that Polyphony Digital is "working on" a Gran Turismo PSP.

Yoshida attributes the long delay to other titles Polyphohy Digital have been working on, namely Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Gran Turismo 5 for PS3. He was also unable to provide a timeframe for when the game will be released. Yamauchi believes the game won't be out until after Gran Turismo 5 makes its debut, which means PSP owners will have to wait another two years. Sigh.

Or, as SCEA producer Taku Imasaki puts it on the PlayStation Blog, "NEW CARS!!" He's very excited. Wouldn't you be too, if a free update to Polyphony Digital's Real But Not Real Enough To Crumple Up Your Ferrari Driving Simulator enabled three new rides and a host of gameplay tweaks?

When you next load up Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, you'll be able to download the "GT by Citroen" concept car (pictured), the Ferrari California and the Lotus Evora. Gameplay enhancements introduced by the update include alterations to the penalty system, race difficulty levels, wireless controller responsiveness, sound volume balance and Drift Trial races, which will now feature a rolling start.

A word of caution, however: "Rankings, arcade time trial times, drift trial records, as well as vehicle-specific quick tune settings and custom key layouts will all be reset with the new update. Replay data created before the second update will no longer be viewable after this update." That's the price of Prologue progress, we suppose.

Three new cars are now available to be downloaded to Gran Turismo 5: Prologue via a free patch. Simply load up the game and the download will begin almost automagically. Included in the patch are three new vehicles, the "GT by Citroen" concept car, the Ferrari California and the Lotus Evora. These cost 1 million, 500 thousand and 100 thousand in-game credits, respectively.

A number of gameplay enhancements have also been added, including changes to the penalty system, tweaks to difficulty levels and reward balancing. Controller responsiveness, sound volume and Drift Trial races have also been improved. Sadly there's no sign of trophies. Before you run off to download the update, be aware that "rankings, arcade time trial times, drift trial records, as well as vehicle-specific quick tune settings and custom key layouts will all be reset with the new update. Replay data created before the second update will no longer be viewable after this update."

Check out the PlayStation Blog for more information on what the patch adds.