Toyota Gets Special Gran Turismo 4 Version

Thanks to GamesAsylum for the news that Toyota have commissioned a special car-specific version of Gran Turismo 4, to encourage Japanese consumers to buy its latest hybrid car. In this Toyota Prius-featuring deal, "Toyota have installed GT Force Pro steering wheel equipped PlayStation 2 booths running the game in their Japanese showrooms, so customers can have a virtual test drive." The Magic Box has some more screenshots of the special Gran Turismo 4 Prius Trial Version, which will be available to play next month, ahead of the game's release, and is "not for resale".

Comments

well

[toddhunter]

Sounds like a pretty good idea. But then anything is good as long as car companies do something other than those annoying ads that have killed so many top songs lately.

Re:well

[Goldberg's Pants]

It's a very good idea. Beats the hell out of pillaging the song archives, I agree with that!

In fact, this is such a good idea I can't believe it's taken this long for a car company to come up with this.

I hate advertising in it's many forms, but this is a form I'd actually accept. It's original and inventive.

Of course they could go all out and have the Mitsubishi's etc... in it, but hamstring them so you can't possibly lose driving a Toyota:)

Re:well

[nelsonal]

I've heard that Subaru was surprised by the demand for the first Impreza WRXs that they offered for sale over here, and buyers were citing the GT series as one of the major reasons for buying them.

Re:well

[Goldberg's Pants]

Interesting. I know there was a rare Subaru available in the game. 22 something or other. (Been a while since I played it.) I managed to get two of them.

If that IS true, that's pretty cool, since it will encourage more car makers to licence their cars for games.

fun to drive.

[buttahead]

at least we have something to do in the booths this year... besides show up the american competition.

Torrents, etc

[cbirdsong64]

This would be quite the prize to get online.

Awesome screenshots

[Sevn]

They actually make the car not look half bad. The only problem I have with most modern cars is this insistance on front wheel drive. I simply can not stand front wheel drive. Right now my project car is a 1991 Galant VR4. AWD is very cool. Put AWD in a car with 4 doors, comfortable seats, and a stick. Make sure that car only weighs 3200 pounds and I'm mighty happy. I have the engine yanked and I'm going to rebore and put forged pistons in it so I can increase boost significantly. I like a comfortable 4 door that handles.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[innosent]

Yeah, the only question I have is: Is the game realistic enough to show you getting passed by all the other models?

But yeah, it's another crappy econobox FWD. But people buy econoboxen because they can't afford better cars, and the company they buy from has some cool marketing gimmick. Cheap cars don't have to be built well, handle well, or perform well. They just have to get good gas mileage and either look good or be cheaper than the competition. Not all FWD cars are bad, just the cheap ones. The major problem is the open diffs. A good FWD car with a good suspension and a Limited Slip Differential (Integra Type R, Sentra SE-R SpecV, GTI, etc.) will handle as well as a RWD car, just look at BTCC (British Touring Car Champ...) as an example.

Either that, or they're like me, and have to buy something cheap and quick because they just blew the engine in their car (91 Mazda RX-7, now rebuilt with a 480HP built Chevy 350, and therefore REALLY expensive to drive around for fun at $1.60/gal. [~8-10mpg])

Re:Awesome screenshots

[innosent]

Oh yeah, as a follow up: Anyone want to buy a 2002 Hyundai Accent base model with no A/C and factory dents (dealer hit it parking) on the driver's side? It's a sarcGREAT/sarc car!

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Sevn]

They can handle just as well on paper, but they do not feel the same. I can't stand the way a FWD car feels. I love RWD but absolutely prefer a good AWD setup. I have owned an driven FWD cars when I need something cheap. And I completely agree with you on the open diff. The most fun I've ever had with a FWD car was with a friends souped up integra. But it STILL doesn't feel as good to me as a really good RWD car like an E36 or any of a handful of midship RWD cars do. There are great examples of good, cheap RWD cars like the 240sx that can have all sorts of neat things done to them. I prefer 4 door sedans though. The 4 door M3 is a sweet car. I can't stand something too heavy.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Anonymous Coward]

You do realize of course that Toyota's are the longest lasting cars on the road.

But yeah, they aren't well built.

91 Mazda RX-7, now rebuilt with a 480HP built Chevy 350

You're a moron.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[the Man in Black]

The 4 door M3 is a sweet car. I can't stand something too heavy.

the BMW M3 is a 2-door coupe/convertible. You're probably thinking of the M5.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[the Man in Black]

(91 Mazda RX-7, now rebuilt with a 480HP built Chevy 350, and therefore REALLY expensive to drive around for fun at $1.60/gal. [~8-10mpg])

You shoehorned a General Motors small-block 350 cu. in. engine into a space where a Mazda rotary engine formerly lived. Outside of the sheer physical impossibility, the finances involved (replacing bottom end, custom making motor mounts, custom GM tranny magically made to fit a Mazda, new computer, etc. etc.) would be completely ridiculous. This makes me want to call you a fool or a liar.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Julius X]

Amen to that. After having owned two Talon TSi AWDs (a 95 and a 93), I can honestly say I never want to buy a FWD car ever again. (Of course, that's not to say I won't drive one, but spend money on one, nah!)

Btw- Mad props for the GVR4. DSMs rule :)

Re:Awesome screenshots

[innosent]

Granny's Speed Shop makes the motor and tranny mounts, it fits, and with the Richmond T10 I have, actually uses the stock driveshaft (with a TH400 front yoke). There are actually a lot of cars I've seen with this swap, but most are just a crate motor. I just took the time/money to build up the block (Steel Crank, Eagle 4340 H-beam rods, .030" over JE Lightweight Pistons, Dart Pro1 230cc heads). As for the computer, sometimes using the latest technology is just a headache, so a Holley 750cfm four-barrel carb works fine, thanks.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey, you didn't repond to the fact that Toyota's are long lasting, yet you feel they're well built. Don't be a pussy, respond.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[the Man in Black]

Well, I retract my earlier nonsense then. I am a dumb monkey.

I bet the 350 in that feather-weight RX-7 body really hauls.

I'd be jealous if I wasn't so broke.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Sevn]

Actually, no. I'm talking about a 1997-1999 4 door e36 BMW M3. You've probably never seen one before. The M5 weights 3900 friggin pounds. Think before you post please.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[the Man in Black]

I'm talking about a 1997-1999 4 door e36 BMW M3

Oh, you mean the old M3. I guess my unthinking self figured who wouldn't mind 700 additional pounds if it meant 160 extra horses and 130 ft./lbs. of torque. Not to mention the standard 6-speed stick getting you from 0-60 in 5 flat.

When I see e36s on the highway, they're generally beat-up pieces of shit that some privileged teenager whined and complained to get.

Glad you like them, though. Good on ya'.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[PainKilleR-CE]

As for the computer, sometimes using the latest technology is just a headache, so a Holley 750cfm four-barrel carb works fine, thanks

hence the 8-10 mpg on an engine that can get twice that with the same horsepower.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Sevn]

What a way to defend being completely wrong about something and knowing not what you were talking about. Do you have any idea how easy it is to get 400hp out of an e36 m3? Granted, it's a little harder with ODBII, but you end up with a car that will absolutely smoke an M5 or the new M3 for considerably less money. Do some research into Active Autowerke. They have packages for around 16 grand that can push the superb 3.2 liter BMW v6 to 600hp. For that matter, it's ridiculously easy to obtain and install the euro engines and 6-speed from the euro e36 into the american e36. And those additional 700 M5 pounds are there and there is NOTHING you can do about it. There is no way to make those 700 pounds go away. And if you don't understand the significance of that, there really is no hope for you. Next time just admit you had no idea what you were talking about instead of lashing out like a fanboy know-it-all.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Sevn]

You are joking right? You've NEVER seen a guy drive an M3? It's a chick car? Right. Sounds like sour grapes and player hating to me. Not to troll. :)
Personally, I overclock everything I own. Hence the reason I'm starting with a galant vr4.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[dago]

AWD, What about Subaru (Impreza and others) ?

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Sevn]

I'll respond. It is COMMON knowlege that the older RX7's from the early 90's had problems. Specifically if you weren't insanely carefuly with engine mods. The rotaries on them simply died. Playing with turbo rotary engines is akin to voodoo. There are only a handful of guys on the planet that do it right. Mazda themselves elected to not bother with a turbo on the latest RX model. So you bet your ass I'd do the same thing this guy did and put a nice, reliable, easy as hell to tune american 350 small block in one. But I'd also look into doing something insane like an rb26dett or a supra motor also. One of the import mags had an rx7 with a supra motor in it a few years ago.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Sevn]

Money.

It really comes down to that. I picked up the galant vr4 in bad shape for 3000. I've stripped the body to the frame and had it repainted black. I located a new creme leather interior. I picked the springs, shocks, and porsche big brake kit I wanted. I've got all the stainless steel lines and everything else I wanted. I've got the superturismo's I wanted. The tires I wanted. The 3 inch aluminum exhaust I wanted. Now I'm concentrating on the engine/turbo. I'm aiming for 20 pounds of street boost with a push to 40-45 on a dash switch using an electronic boost controller. I should see 10's with little effort. I'd also like to steal the fastest Galant VR4 title. I think the current fastest galant vr4 is 11.2. I'm going to try to do it non-nitrous and leaving the weight pretty much stock at around 3200. I'll probably have to add a roll cage and a fuel cell though. I'm going the DSM/Galant route because it's been done before. I've never really seen a 10 or even 11 second Subaru AWD. I'll let someone else figure that out. :) The end goal is a street car that isn't all lamed out like those hondas with huge tail spoilers that do NOTHING but look stupid. No gay neon. No gay stickers. Just a very well engineered sophisticated car that is comfortable and can obliterate a viper without really trying on normal boost, then go to the track and keep up with the rest of the insanely fast DSM's there. It has been done before with the Galante, so it's a safe way to proceed. I'm currently under budget and liking that.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[h0mer]

FYI, a GTI doesn't handle as well as you would think. My friend totaled his 2003 by overestimating the handling, it has way too much body roll from the factory. You really need a 1-2" drop and possibly some swaybars to make it handle like it should. Have you heard of the R32 though? 240hp 3.2L V6, AWD shoved into a kitted-out GTI IV body. Coming to the States sometime in the near future, probably around $30,000 at launch. It's a not-so-direct competitor to the Evo and WRX STi.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Neon Spiral Injector]

How about a lighter engine that can still make 700 HP? (I'm only tuning mine for around 450.) ((And it is going in the heavier convertible body.))

See my sig (haven't updated the site for a while).

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Lo0mis]

http://www.rigoliracing.com.au/bestets.htm Anything can be made to go fast. The reason you've probably never seen a 10 sec scoob is because the Subaru performance market is still pretty small in the US compared to Mitsubishi. Getting much larger though. There are however, many 11 sec WRX's in the states currently. And I haven't even touched on the STi's. Your Mitsu sounds pretty dern cool BTW. It's all about the AWD.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Sevn]

WOW. I actually like the WRX's a lot. It's one of very few "almost perfect cars from the factory". I had no idea people were getting them to go that fast. Here it's mostly pissed off mustang and camero and chevelle guys that have their panties in a bunch because they got smoked by a highly tuned honda (done right) or DSM. Given the proper budget to do it right, I'd get one and start ripping it apart. I'd be MORE interested in going nuts on an evo though. I love the lancer look. Of course, my wild wet dream is for Nissan to get a friggin american skyline gtr over here. Even though they are a teeny tiny bit too heavy, they make excellent drag cars. You can go the motorex route for 90 friggin grand. If they sold here as a regular import, they'd probably sell new for about 40-45 grand. The new model Galant VR4's are VERY intriguing though. They look AWESOME. I REALLY wish they imported those. Check out the specs.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[Lo0mis]

I can't leave my house without seeing at least 2 mustangs. I swear it's the most common boring car in America. A heavily modded EVO would be sweet, I prefer the EVO VI and VII over the new one though. But more then any of those, I would rather drop a USDM STi block into my 2000 RS. 300HP in a chassis significantly lighter than its intended host is a beautiful thing. And it's smog legal! That VR4 looks pretty cool, not exactly my cup o' tea but it does look impressive number wise. I prefer smaller cars. And an FYI, the next Skyline is rumored to be hitting the US.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[innosent]

Personally, I don't know if the Prius is well built or not. I know that most Toyotas are in fact very well built, and was talking about the cheap cars in general. Even if a cheap car is well built, the quality of the parts is often low (hence cheap), and something like the Echo or Prius may be assembled well, but that doesn't matter when the parts fail. All carmakers do a good job with their top models, it's the entry models that tend to suck, with the exception of Honda (but they really only have 2 models of cars now, so that shouldn't count).

As you may have noticed, I have a 2002 Hyundai Accent, and I'm on my second (manual) transmission and the clutch is slipping at 26k. I drive hard (in other cars, this one's just too slow), sure, but I don't miss a shift, and for the synchros to crack after 20k is a sign of bad quality. Same with the clutch. It's a cheap clutch, and can't handle much use, whereas my 1995 Integra's clutch lasted about 90k, and I was much harder on it.

For the most part, quality and cheap are mutually exclusive, and most would rather give you a warranty than raise the cost of the car.

Re:Awesome screenshots

[innosent]

Yeah, I know, it was more a matter of towing the car to my friend's garage after the motor blew, then saying "Hey, what are you doing with those Chevy blocks? I wonder if it would..."

And so it began... Then about 10 people did the same thing, and beat me to finishing. I'm just now finishing it up, it's been about a year and a half since then. I really love rotaries, but I just don't yet trust myself with them, and haven't found anyone that really knows them well enough for my tastes yet, and the 20B was not something I was interested in, since I would prefer less rotating weight, spinning much faster. Someday, I'll build a side (Renesis) or peripheral port rotary for 18,000 rpm, but I don't have the time or resources for that at the moment, since there's just too much engineering and testing involved. Turbo's aren't of much interest to me, really, I prefer throttle response to power, and higher compression to higher boost.

I did get the 350 as close as possible, though, as I'm using an 8000rpm redline, and the entire rotating assembly is balanced, with lightweight components (including a button-style Quartermaster clutch). I still have the 13B, and I may get around to rebuilding it soon, but I wanted to do something different with the car. The 13B I'll save for something lighter. Anyone know what it takes to get a formula-style car street legal?

I remember

[the Man in Black]

I remember something like this at the North American Internation Auto Show in Detroit several years back. PSX machines running GT2 (if memory serves) hooked up to big screens with cushy seats so people could "virtual test drive" some Big Three cars. Pretty nifty, given Gran Turismo's notoriety for simulation level physics. I say take it a step farther and release a version of GT with actual local city streets, traffic, etc. for this type of demonstration.

This could get pretty cool with the GT4 engine. Imagine driving a virtual Viper past Cobo Hall complete with NAIAS lights and signs on it.

OK, I'm babbling. Being a computer dork and a car dork at the same time is difficult, so bear with me.

Interesting Concept

[Lord_Dweomer]

Anybody notice in the second to last screenshot how it looks like its driving in a pack of regular street cars (granted its on a track)?

I've always wondered if it would be fun to have a game with the open-endedness of Grand Theft Auto, but the graphics of Gran Turismo (in w/e its current version is). And it wouldn't be on a track either.

It would be a regular street, in fact, best would be realistically modelled cities that you could drive around in any number of types of cars. From the car you drive now to an expensive car. And it would have realistic traffic.....but here's the kicker....

You could turn cops on and off. So you could do things you've ALWAYS wanted to do on your daily route to work for example, but never could because of the ramifications. I think it would be extremely popular in the cities that are realistically modelled in the game because it really connects you to the game.

Re:Interesting Concept

[Anonymous Coward]

Its called Midnight Club 2.. go play it.

Re:Interesting Concept

[Lord_Dweomer]

No, its not, reread my comment.

Hrmmmm

[The-Bus]

Why do I want to drive a Prius in Gran Turismo? I play Gran Turismo so I can drive S4s and Ruf CTR-2s, not cars my mom would own.

Re:Hrmmmm

[American AC in Paris]

Why do I want to drive a Prius in Gran Turismo? I play Gran Turismo so I can drive S4s and Ruf CTR-2s, not cars my mom would own.

D'oh! Perhaps the Toyota dealerships trying to sell Priuses to people interested in buying a car should have taken this into consideration!

I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when hordes of non-Prius-buying gamers fail to flock to the simulators sitting on their showroom floors! Ha-hah!

Re:Hrmmmm

[bluGill]

I played gran Turismo so I could drive all the cars in the world. I was dissapointed that I couldn't drive a Model T. I would have liked to drive some old steam car. Where is the hourse and buggy. (I'd like to try a horse and buggy around that corkscrew that we spend weeks trying to get the Viper around)

I can't afford to buy every car. Even if I could, many are too rare to get the most out of. If I owned a 1 of 10 made care, I would only drive it in parades, which doesn't get a car made for a tight high speed race track to show any abilities.

Gran Turismo is not complete without the Prius.

Re:Hrmmmm

[Deluge]

S4? The Audi? Or the Porsche 928 S4? Or the comet 1999 S4? I realise you're trying to be cool by not typing out the entire name of the car because it'll make you seem like a part of the elite crowd that automatically knows what's being talked about when a cryptic acronym or partial name is mentioned, but you *are* writing to an audience of half million people so relax, hit a few more keys to clear things up for people, we pass no judgments here.

done before?

[evilhayama]

When I was in tokyo last year I saw machines just like those described here, except running gt3, and obviously with a different model of car. This was in the main Toyota showroom, where there was lots of cool driving simulators and demo cars all over the 4 levels of the building. There were lines for the GT3 machines even in the middle of a weekday too.

Why not sell or give away these special versions?

[Mattb90]

Polyphony have now gone through quite a few special one car/manufacturer versions of GT3/4, but every one has never been released to the public. Instead they remain only in showrooms - but this in itself presents the problem of limitation; after all, they need PS2 pods and steering wheels at each showroom, and thus only a limited amount of people get to see it (especially as only a few showrooms will carry the pods and game).

Therefore I believe the best thing SCEI/Polyphony and the companies involve can do is get these demos into the public domain. Getting the demos out to the mainstream audience through things like magazine CDs (read: OPS2M) allows people to sit at home and admire both the game and the car(s) involved. Playing again and again will let people become convince to buy a car, rather than a short play with a sales person watching over you.

Sure, the current method allows the companies to convince the almost converted to purchase the car, but if the people at home who hadn't even thought about the car see a demo version and like it, then they may go out and purchase both the car and GT4 - a success for both companies involved.

Re:Why not sell or give away these special version

[Anonymous Coward]

Heh... I bought a Mitsubishi Lancer OZ-Rally last year, and I first considered it because of the Evo's appearance in GT3. (Can't afford the real Evo, alas...)

Toyota loves Gran Turismo

[FlukeMeister]

I used to work with Toyota UK, and in the rather lavish reception of their enormous new offices, they have had a continuously running demo of GT3 for about the last 2 years.

Quite impressive, I might add, as it's running over 9 linked 42-inch plasma screens.

The marketing department there absolutely loved GT3, and would often show off to customers, dealers, etc., by playing any one of a number of (really well driven) replays that they had saved.

Priuses aren't selling

[KeelSpawn]

My dad's a sales manager at a Toyota dealer. I've asked him a couple of times about how the Priuses are selling, but to my surprise he said BARELY anyone buys it. I've google-grouped it a bit last month and found lots of the same comments about the extremely high price of their replacement batteries, and their relatively slow acceleration rate. And now they think they can use a virtual-reality racing game to increase their sales? What kind of method is that??