Virtual world gives drivers an ‘opportunity’ to test cars ahead of production, says Gran Turismo boss

Driving simulators are giving motorists the chance to fully test-drive a vehicle before it goes on sale in the real world.

That’s according to Kazunori Yamauchi, producer of Gran Turismo, which is one of the most popular car simulators to have been created in the last 30 years.

“In real life, you don’t often get the opportunity to really test the car before it goes on sale – Gran Turismo can let you do it,’” Yamauchi said.

Gran Turismo has been used to launch several vehicles ahead of their real-world releases, with the most recent example being the upcoming Polestar 5. The four-door electric car will go on sale in the UK this year, but launched in Gran Turismo in 2025. Yamauchi was speaking at the FAT Ice Race in Austria, which hosted one of the 5’s first dynamic displays to the public.

A Polestar representative told the PA news agency that in two weeks, 160,000 people had signed up to drive the 5 via the Gran Turismo game.

Billed as ‘the real driving simulator’, Gran Turismo was launched in 1997 as a realistic take on cars and driving. Since then, the game has consistently broken new ground in terms of realism and dynamic mirroring of real-life cars.

“It’s been almost 30 years since the first Gran Turismo,” said Yamauchi.

“When I look back, the first users are now at an age where they’re in positions of importance within the car industry.

“The people who took an interest though Gran Turismo and decided to make it their career. I think that’s really big.”