Sony Announces Third Gran Turismo Car Awards

Officials from publisher Sony and developer Polyphony Digital have announced that they will host the third annual GT Awards at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) car show in Las Vegas. The winners of this third iteration of the awards, which are presided over by Polyphony's Kazunori Yamauchi, will have a digital version of their car included in the a future version of Gran Turismo, presumably either Gran Turismo 4 Mobile for the PSP or a Gran Turismo sequel for the PlayStation 3. The awards will be given to winners in categories including Best Truck/SUV, Best Japanese Import, Best European Import, Best Domestic Automobile, Best Hot Rod and Best in Show. Only the winner of the Best in Show award will actually have their vehicle featured in the game. The awards will be presented at the ICE venue in Las Vegas on Wednesday, November 2nd. The overall winner of the show from its first year, 2003, was Ted and Sue Richardson’s “Bu'Wicked” 1962 Buick Special, which was subsequently incorporated in the PlayStation 2 version of Gran Turismo 4. Marcel Horn was honored in 2004 with the 'Best in Show' award, and a subsequent inclusion in GT4, for his one-of-kind HPA Volkswagen R32.